A Season to Fast and Pray

Lent is a time for prayer and fasting. It is a season of spiritual preparation in which we remember Christ’s temptation, suffering, and death. Historically, the church has celebrated Lent as a 40-day period beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding the day before Easter. It is observed in many Christian churches as a time to commemorate the last week of Jesus’ life, his suffering (Passion), and his death, through various observances and services of worship. Many Christians use the 40 days of Lent as time to draw closer to the Lord through prayer, fasting, repentance, and self-denial. We live in a culture of fast food, instant gratification, and self-centeredness. One of the best ways to get our eyes off of ourselves and back onto the Lord is through fasting. However, fasting has practically been disregarded and forgotten in the comforts of the modern church. Fasting didn’t end in Biblical times, there have actually been proclaimed fasts in America. Fasting is nothing new in American history. The pilgrims held three formal periods of fasting before leaving for the New World. During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress proclaimed July 20, 1775, as a national day of fasting and prayer in preparation for the war on independence.

What is Fasting?

What does it really mean to fast? According to the Oxford Dictionary, fasting means to abstain from food; especially to eat sparingly or not at all or abstain from certain foods in observance of a religious duty or a token of grief.” Fasting and religious purposes cannot be separated because they are intricately intertwined. The Bible gives us numerous references to individual and corporate fasts. There were even certain days that were designated each year for fasting and prayer. Fasting is a gift that God has given to the church in order to help us persevere in prayer. Fasting draws us closer to God and gives power to our prayers. Our central motivation with this lesson is to teach about the reasons to fast, different types of fasting, and then discuss how to fast.

Reasons for Fasting

People have been fasting since the ancient days of the Bible. The Bible records numerous accounts where people, cities, and nations have turned to God by fasting and praying: Hannah grieved over infertility “wept and did not eat” (1 Samuel 1:7); Anna, who was an elderly widow, saw Jesus in the temple and “served God with fasting and prayer” (Luke 2:37). Saul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, “was three days without sight, neither ate or drank.” (Acts 9:9). Cornelius told Peter, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour…” (Acts 10:30). Most people fast for religious and spiritual reasons, while others choose to fast for health reasons. There are several specific reasons that the Bible tells us to fast.

1. To be Christ like. (Matthew 4:1-17; Luke 4:1-13).
2. To obtain spiritual purity. (Isaiah 58:5-7).
3. To repent from sins. (See Jonah 3:8; Nehemiah 1:4, 9:1-3; 1 Samuel 14:24).
4. To influence God. (2 Samuel 12:16-23).
5. To morn for the dead. (1 Samuel 31:13; 2 Samuel 1:12).
6. To request God’s help in times of crisis and calamity. (Ezra 8:21-23; Nehemiah 1:4-11).
7. To strengthen prayer. (Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:17-29; Acts 10:30; 1 Corinthians 7:5).

Types of Fasting

In the same way that God appointed times and seasons to fast, He also designated several types of fasts. Because of certain medical problems, and physical needs, there are different types of fasting. Not everyone can go on an extended 5-7 day fast; in a similar way, not everyone can totally abstain from food and water. A person should exercise wisdom and consult their physician if they have any medical concerns before they fast, otherwise it could actually be harmful to your health. However, there are at least three types of individual fasts: absolute fast, solid food fast, and partial fast.

1. Absolute Fast

An absolute fast is conducted by abstaining from all food and water for a certain period of time. This is also known as the “total fast” because an individual chooses to abstain from all foods and beverages. There are several Biblical examples for the total fast. Moses and Elijah both abstained from food and water for forty days and forty nights. (Deuteronomy 9:9, 10:10, 18:25-29; 1 Kings 19:8). Although the Bible says they fasted for forty days, many people usually only totally abstain from food and water for three days.

2. Solid Food Fast

A solid food fast is where an individual may drink juice and water, but chooses not to eat solid food. Certain scholars and theologians think that Jesus may have drank water while in the wilderness since the Bible doesn’t say that he was thirsty after his forty day fast (see Matthew 4:2). Drinking water while fasting for several days can actually be therapeutic for your body. In any case, you should not fast for more than a week unless you consult a doctor.

3. Partial Fast

To fast simply means to “abstain” from something. A partial fast is where you choose to abstain from certain foods and drinks instead of complete abstinence of food or drink. The Bible tells us that Daniel abstained from bread, water, and wine for twenty-one days (Daniel 10:3). Others may choose to fast from television, computer, newspaper, and hobbies. This will help you free up some time to spend in prayer and reflection.

Jesus and Fasting

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught a lesson about how to fast and how not to fast:

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your father who is in the secret place; and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:16-28)

We see that it is important to not brag or boast to others about fasting. The Jews of Jesus’ day used fasting and giving to make everyone think that they were more spiritual than others. But Jesus tells us that fasting should be done in secret so that it can’t be used as a way of bringing glory to ourselves. Fasting should make us humble instead of proud. In the end it is not our works, but our hearts that matter to God.

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Dr. Winfield Bevins serves as lead pastor of Church of the Outer Banks, which he founded in 2005.  His life’s passion in ministry is discipleship and helping start new churches. He lives in the beautiful beach community of the Outer Banks with his wife Kay and two daughters where he loves to surf and spend time at the beach with his family and friends. Twitter: @winfieldbevins

(Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from Prayer Life by Winfield Bevins available through GCD Books.)

Mission in Everyday Life

Compartmentalization vs. Integration

Jesus’ activity is helpful as we consider our own. It’s especially helpful to see that most of what Jesus did, He did with others. Yes, there are glimpses of Him traveling and praying alone. A few times He sent everyone ahead and caught up later—once via an evening stroll on the sea. And we see Him pray in solitude. But not always. More often, Jesus traveled, worked, ate, drank, and even prayed alongside and in the midst of His disciples, the outcasts of society, and those in need. And while this is easy to miss, if He did these things with others then He did them with folks who weren’t Christians. Because at the time, that was His only option.

What’s the difference between Jesus and us? One, we’re not God. But two, Jesus integrated ministry and mission into daily life, while nearly everyone we know—including ourselves—defaults to the opposite. We compartmentalize ministry into certain times and activities, separate from the rest of our lives. If we’re not careful, “mission” is relegated to a Saturday morning time slot. We do nice things, check our watches often, then wrap up and go to Chili’s. Saturday morning we go do mission, Saturday at noon we go to lunch. Or we have a certain evening for our Bible study group to come watch a movie, but if a co-worker asks us what we’re doing, we make up an excuse and try to take a rain check. We have Christian friend nights and not-Christian friend nights. And so on. This easy mindset rejects the fact that we are missionaries, and relegates “mission” back to something we either do or don’t, or something we merely do then stop doing in order to do something else.

Mission is not alone; it follows the pattern of Western life: we have work or school hours, social time, a church block, our weekend chunk of time, and so on. When we started The City Church, we introduced people to new identities God gives us in the gospel: in Christ, we are disciples of God, members of God’s family, and missionaries to God’s world. Before we knew how to flesh those out well, many folks became very busy, planning separate events each week for each: discipleship nights, then family nights, then mission nights. We followed the compartmentalization we were used to. When friend and missionary Caesar Kalinowski was in town, he noticed that this separation made us too busy: we were doing many things—some good—but it was wearing us out.

Redeeming Everyday Moments

What’s the solution to compartmentalized, overly-busy mission, in the midst of our compartmentalized, overly-busy lives? Our intentionally cheesy answer that is to ask, with bracelet-wearing church kids of the 1990s, “WWJD?” Jesus didn’t compartmentalize; He didn’t try to fit ministry in between His “job.” He didn’t even seem to have specific events for one type of people, then other events for others. From rich to poor, from the Hebrew Law’s “clean” to “unclean,” and from doctor to fisherman, Jesus integrated people, life, ministry, and mission. He redeemed the everyday, normal moments of His life and used them for God’s mission. As we try to do the same, we can likewise redeem everyday moments and integrate mission into our ordinary lives.

What things do you do every day of the week? What classes do you take or teach every week of the month? What events do you attend you do every month of the year? There are normal, ordinary, sometimes even boring moments in our lives that can be redeemed for God’s mission. Here are just a few of the most common, redeemable moments:

• We eat about twenty-one meals a week: sometimes less, sometimes a few more than we should
• Many commute to and from work or school, or take children to and from school
• Lots of people do yard work or other chores on Saturday mornings
• Depending on where you are in the nation, you might play in your yard many evenings, or go for a stroll around your neighborhood
• Every fall, fans find themselves in front of a TV from Thursday until Monday, between college football and pro games
• If you don’t like football, you end up on the couch for your favorite reality show, comedy, or drama
• You likely eat out, at least occasionally
• You do something like going to the gym, getting your hair cut, oil changed, or car washed, or having nails done or tattoos redone
• You have hobbies: whether movies, train-spotting, music, hiking, surfing, baking, or even gaming, many can involve others
• Someone in your home goes to the grocery store, at least once every couple weeks—and other errands require you to walk, ride, or drive as well
• Many families go on at least a vacation or two each year

Mission in Everyday Life

Everyone in your mission field does at least one of these things, just like you. Each of these moments—and so many more—are chances to weave mission into everyday. Carpool to work or school, or walk or take public transportation. Invite neighbors over to watch the game you’re both planning to watch. Meet your coworkers for breakfast, even if once a month. Set up play dates for your kids’ classmates, with both Christians and those who aren’t. Would you ever consider vacationing with another family?

Just like Jesus did, we each travel, work, eat and drink, and hopefully pray. Each day is filled with ordinary moments and activities, which we often do alone, or with a certain “type” of friend. But even the simplest of activities are opportunities for worship and mission: “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” When can we integrate life and mission? Rather than segregating people into different time slots or adding things to busy schedules, everyday mission happens when we redeem everyday moments.

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Ben Connelly, his wife Jess, and their daughters Charlotte and Maggie live in Fort Worth, TX. He started and now co-pastors The City Church, part of the Acts29 network and Soma family of churches. Ben is also co-author of A Field Guide for Everyday Mission (Moody Publishers, 2014). With degrees from Baylor University and Dallas Theological Seminary, Ben teaches public speaking at TCU, writes for various publications, trains folks across the country, and blogs in spurts at benconnelly.net. Twitter: @connellyben.

(Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from A Field Guide for Everyday Mission by Ben Connelly & Bob Roberts Jr. available from Moody Publishers starting June 2014. It appears here with the permission of the author and publisher. For free resources and preorders, visit everydaymission.net.)

Walking Through the Flood

I went and saw Darren Aronofsky’s Noah during the opening weekend with my wife. The point of this article isn’t to review the movie. You can find some helpful reviews from Greg Thornbury, Joe Carter, Brian Mattson, and Kevin McLenithan at CaPC (those will give the sweep of evangelical responses). As they mention, there were positive and negative points about the movie, but the one area where I think Aronofsky pushes into the narrative well is right as the flood starts and the Ark is being tossed about by the wind and the waves. During this scene, you can hear the cries of people mixed with the roar of the waters. You can hardly distinguish the two. That realization that all other humans were being killed by the deluge weighed heavily on Noah and his family. So often when we teach our children about the Flood we do so without letting the weight of the narrative sink in. The deluge was a judgment because “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intention of the thoughts if his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5) and “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and filled with violence” (6:11). God commands Noah to build an ark and to take animals and his family on the ark to preserve life. The waters come; the waves billow; the floods rise. The Spirit says, “And all flesh died. . . . Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died” (7:21-22). Those are sobering verses.

How do we normally treat the narrative integrity of this story? Just as poorly as Aronofsky does in some points in his movie. We white wash the grief that should press down in our hearts with cutesy flannel graphs of smiling animals and rainbows. We commercialize God’s judgement of the entire world by decorating our baby’s rooms with a happy-go-lucky Noah and family. Can you imagine the inner turmoil and possible guilt Noah might have felt as his family survived this catastrophic flood?

Walking Through the Flood

Christians must sojourn through the deluge. We must submerge ourselves in the Word of God--especially those difficult stories. We must do this as a family. Otherwise, what we are left with is the neutered children stories, flannel graphs, and children decor available at most Christian retailers today--not the actual stories of the Bible.

It’s not just Noah either. We do this with most of the Bible’s stories. Part of the beauty of the Bible is the tension it creates as the gospel narrative unfolds. It’s filled with judgement, death, incest, lies, deceit, homosexuality, fornication, murder, rape, and disobedience. These sinful elements (sin described with straightforward honesty, but without crudeness) create movement. They drive us forward. They keep us asking, “Why?” They keep us looking for Someone who can redeem this world and us.

Reading through these stories with our family provides us the opportunity to have difficult discussions with our children and spouses. It’s a critical part of spiritual maturity. Maturity in Christ cannot be attained without wrestling with the tough questions that the Scripture raises. Multiplication of disciples (Matt. 28:18-20) cannot occur without this collective wrestling. So how can we teach others to obey all the words of the Lord, if we have failed to wrestle with them as a family?

The Darkness Makes Way for the Light

Also, all the sinful elements in Scripture are things that will undoubtedly confront our families--regardless if we introduce them to our children or spouses. Insulation isn’t an option. Is there a better way to introduce difficult topics like death, rape, murder, adultery than in the river of the gospel story? Is there a better way to tackle difficult social issues like abortion, rebellion, or homosexuality than through the sweep of Scripture? A story where these elements are not praised or perverted into something other than they are. A story where these elements drive us towards our need for a Savior.

That doesn’t mean we open our Bibles directly to Judges 19 with our toddlers, but it does mean within the time we have with our family we cover Scripture from front to back. My children are young still, but the best conversation I’ve had with my oldest daughter Claire happened because we were reading through the Passion narrative in Matthew. Claire was so conflicted by the death of Jesus. She felt it was unfair that he had to die. We spent at least the next two hours going back and forth about the significance of the pivotal plot points in the gospel narrative. The conversation went from Jesus died for sinners to “Daddy are you going to die?” to “Will I die daddy?” We discussed the Heidelberg Catechism question and answer one. I encouraged her that for those who believe the promises of God, “Jesus is our only hope in life and death.” I could see the wheels turning and she by the end of our discussion she told me, “Daddy, I believe the promises of God.” I ended with a prayer for God to be faithful to his promises for our family and that he would grow Claire’s faith. These kind of frank conversations only occur when we sojourn together with our families through the deluge.

So don’t be afraid of Bible stories that are difficult. Sometimes it may be ok to just say, “I don’t know why” when our children ask difficult questions. Tell them you’ve struggled with the same questions. Tell them you will pray and ask God for answers as well. Don’t relieve tension in the Scriptures that God inspired. One thing we can be sure of these things--he put many of these stories in Scripture so he can disciple us and we can disciple our families. He put them there to contrast the bad news (that sin and evil runs through each of our hearts) with the good news (the Redeemer has come and is offering a covenant of peace made in his blood). Sojourn through the deluge together.

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Mathew B. Sims is the Editor-in-Chief at Exercise.com and has authored, edited, and contributed to several books including A Household Gospel, We Believe: Creeds, Confessions, & Catechisms for Worship, A Guide for Advent, Make, Mature, Multiply, and A Guide for Holy Week. Mathew, LeAnn (his wife), and his daughters Claire, Maddy, and Adele live in Taylors, SC at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains with their Airdale Terrier. They attend Downtown Presbyterian Church (PCA). Visit MathewBryanSims.com!

A Glorious Expedition

We as men are all called to lead our wives (Eph. 5:25-27), which sounds like a glorious expedition. However, no one knows how to do it practically. Many men want to lead their wives better, but have trouble knowing how to do so. Some men try to preach at their wives (which doesn’t work). Others try to make their homes a mini-seminary (which doesn’t work). Others start reading the Bible and then get frustrated and just give up (which doesn’t work). Other men are discouraged because they don’t feel as though they are godly enough to lead (which doesn’t work). I personally wanted to write this article, not because I’m a good leader in my home, but because I’m not a great leader. I’ve had to talk to men, read, pray, and learn by trial and error on how to lead my wife and I’m still not great at it.

Therefore, I wanted to put together a practical list for leading our wives better on this glorious expedition. Now, some of these tips will work better for some couples than others so feel free to find what works for you and to mix and match. This will be a process of trial and error, but it is worth the struggle to grow spiritually.

1. Lead your wife with love. The most important thing when it comes to guiding your wife is how you act toward her and how you show your love for the Lord (1 Pt. 3:7). Actions speak louder than words. If you are loving, tender, selfless, sacrificial, joyous, and deeply love Jesus, this will have the greatest impact on your family of anything that you could do. Modeling Jesus in your own life will naturally guide your wife. Make sure you make Jesus look beautiful. If you make him look beautiful then your wife will naturally grow in her affections for him. Conversely, if you don’t have personal joy in the Lord then your wife will find it harder to grow in her own personal walk with him as well.

2. Go after your wife’s heart. Many men just do tasks or serve their wife by emptying the dryer (which is good, by the way) but you have to find out who your wife really is and find out how to make her feel loved internally. Going after your wife’s heart instead of just doing tasks is key. Asking questions about her and how she is doing spiritually can be a good way to do this. Don’t just be generic (i.e. “how are you”) but more specific (i.e. “what makes you love Jesus this week?”) in your questions. And be ready to listen.

3. Pray with your wife. This can be tough for many people because it becomes a “task.” One of the things you can do is pray in bed before you go to sleep. The prayer doesn’t have to be long or elaborate and you can both be laying down and just hold hands and pray. An ineloquent prayer is better than no prayer at all. Your relationship with your wife is so important that God mentions that your prayers may be hindered if one doesn’t gently honor their wife (1 Pt. 3:7).

4. Read scripture together (Deut. 6:7). Now, this often turns into a “preaching moment” for most men so instead of trying to be your wife’s professor, just read a chapter of scripture out loud before you go to bed. She can read the next chapter tomorrow night and you can alternate. You don’t have to “teach” the passage, you can just read it and then go to bed. Of course, you are always free to talk about it with each other if you would like.

5. Read a book together. Read a book together or read two separate books and set up a coffee date, once a week, to sit down and talk about what you are learning and what the Lord is revealing to you in your reading.

6. Listen to sermons, lessons, or studies together. Once a week it may be wise to listen to a sermon, lecture, or lesson together. Sermons online or a series (like Tommy Nelson’s “Song of Solomon”) are wonderful to listen to together in your marriage.

7. Worship with you family. Perhaps once a week, or once a month, you can plug in your iPod to some speakers and play some worship songs. Or make your car rides together a time to worship in song. Allow your family to sing, worship, and allow your kids to dance. This not only is a great way to lead your family in worship, but I have found it is one of the most helpful things you can do to grow your wife in the Lord. Worshipping gets our eyes on Christ and allows him to minister to us. We are more apt to love him only after we realize how much he loves us.

The good news is that Jesus cares more for your wife than you do. He also cares more for your marriage than you do. These steps are not a "silver bullet" or a task list to merely check off. The hope in all this is that you would look to the mercy of Christ and depend on him so that he might grow you both. Marriage is a mini picture of the gospel so be encouraged in the fact that Jesus will do all the work, our part is just to be faithful.

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Zach Lee is Associate Home Groups Minister at The Village Church and is married to Katy.  Follow him on Twitter: @zacharytlee.

Converging Marriage and Mission

DIVERGING STREAMS?

Many married people reading this are well versed in two streams of Christian thought: the first stream is that we are God’s people sent into God’s world to carry out God’s mission. From Abraham on, God sends his people into the world–not to be enveloped by the world, but to live–as St. Augustine put it–as the “city of God,” living among the “city of Man” and seeking its good. The other stream is that marriage is the best reflection of the Trinity, and of God’s love for and pursuit of his Bride. Orthodox theology for the past 2000 years has affirmed Paul’s words in Ephesians 5, that the blessed relationship between a husband and wife is the clearest picture of “the mystery” of “Christ and his church.” We’ve heard both those streams; we know both principles; we even believe and strive to live out those truths.

The problem is we often hear, know, believe, and live those streams separately from each other, while God designed them to be one strong, flowing, unified river. We try to live as missionaries and as couples as two distinct compartments of life. As Paul Tripp has said: “But they’re not naturally divided. That’s why you don’t have a huge discussion in the New Testament of the tension between ministry and family. It’s just not there. We have set that up, because we naturally look at these two things as separate dimensions.” Here’s the truth for every Christian couple: marriage is the clearest picture of the gospel in the world today, and your marriage is one of the best forms of evangelism in the world today. We can no longer keep our marriage and our mission in separate, parallel streams–they must converge.

How can God use our marriage for his mission? We can learn much from the Bible’s brief glimpses of one couple, Aquila and Priscilla, in Acts 18.

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. Acts 18:1-3

GOD’S MISSION THROUGH YOUR IDENTITY

Aquila and Priscilla were not pastors and didn’t have seminary degrees. They made tents for a living, working a culturally-normative profession. Yet they saw themselves as ministers of the gospel by opening their lives to Paul. We see at the end of 1 Corinthians that they hosted the local church in their home. Later in Acts 18 they go with Paul on mission for the gospel. In some circles today, Christians refer to “tent-making” as the honorable use of a “secular” job for ministry. For this couple, tent-making carried no great honor; it was simply their job, and a means of God’s provisions, as they lived their lives for the gospel. They were a married couple with a normal life, who used their marriage and life for God’s ministry. Whoever you are, and regardless of your job, city, or profession–or marital status–you are a minister of the gospel.

The God who saved you “by grace through faith” now has “good works, prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8-10). “God. . . through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18). If you're married, you're probably busy. Whether you’re paid by a church or by Starbucks, FedEx, an ISD, or the government, and whether we’ve been married one week or fifty years, and whether you have ten kids running around the home or are empty-nesters, and whether you deal with the normal messiness of life or struggle with deeper issues, you’re still (primarily) God’s people sent on God’s mission to God’s world. That’s your identity in Christ: you’re a minister of his gospel.

GOD’S MISSION THROUGH YOUR HOSPITALITY

As part of Aquila and Priscilla’s gospel ministry, they opened their home to the Apostle Paul. He didn’t just crash on their couch for a few nights, but moved in with them. Their home was also the meeting place for the local church. If you look at the normative life of the early church in Acts 2, you know that folks didn’t just wander into their home at 10am on a Sunday, stay for an hour, then go to Chili’s. Instead, “day by day, [they attended] the temple together and [broke] bread in their homes” (Acts 2). The church was likely in Aquila and Priscilla’s home a lot.

There’s an old episode of Everybody Loves Raymond in which Ray’s parents purchase a new couch, and won’t remove the plastic wrap for fear of getting it dirty–that’s a great picture of how many of us view our homes. Today we often view our homes as a “refuge” or “retreat” from the difficult world “out there.” That thinking misses part of the point: our homes, like everything God gives us, are gifts to steward for the sake of God's mission. Aquila and Priscilla had a home, and used that home as a generous blessing to others.

Aquila and Priscilla lived as God’s ministers, and in doing so, they used their home as a ministry. In the familial mess of opening your home, doors open for deep conversations. In denying the comfort and convenience a home can provide, others are blessed and cared for.

GOD’S MISSION THROUGH YOUR DECISIONS

Put yourself in Aquila and Priscilla’s shoes. You’re new to town, and you're only there because you got kicked out of your last town. If the local church needs a place to meet, would you volunteer your home? Paul shows up and asks to live with you. While your first impression today might be excitement: “The most famous Christian in the world, the guy who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, the greatest missionary of all time, wants to live with ME?!” We must see the other side too. Paul was also one of the most persecuted, most wanted, most despised persons of his day. “Inviting him in” was a massive danger to yourself!

When we think of “hospitality,” we often mistake it for what the Bible calls “fellowship.” At times it’s easy–or at least, easier–to open your home to other followers of Jesus. But true, biblical hospitality is opening your home to strangers, caring for the hurting and the least. Biblical hospitality means blessing folks who could never bless you back. It is initiating with others and loving people because God first initiated and loved us.

The rubber meets the road in marriage and ministry through the decisions you make each day. Those decisions display what you and your spouse value, love, pursue, and fear. Your decisions display what you and your spouse worship. And those you’re ministering to will watch your marriage and learn from it. How you use your home as a couple is one of those daily decisions.

GOD’S MISSION THROUGH YOUR STEWARDSHIP

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:9: “if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” If Jesus hasn’t risen, and there’s no hope for the future, then we should be more pitied than anyone in the world. The reason our lives should invite pity from people who don’t know Jesus is that our lives should look strange, illogical, and crazy. People should think we’ve lost our minds. Is that true of the decisions you and your spouse make? What values and priorities do your neighbors see in your marriage? What goals and pursuits does the world around you see in your life?

If God is using our marriages for his mission, it looks completely illogical. For example you might be able to afford the best private school in town, yet send your kids to the less-esteemed, local public one because your family places obedience in mission above an educational reputation. It makes no sense to deny a higher paying job, for one with better hours–but you pursue mission by dwelling with your family and mission field longer. Might we give up a club, hobby, organization, Xbox, or even one of our many Bible Studies, to free up time, money, and energy for those God sent us to? Might we even “cold-call” our neighbors and invite them over for dinner? Would we let them see our imperfections, and bless them without expecting a return? This is the call to display the weird life of gospel implications in marriage.

The key to each of these–living as a minister, opening your home and marriage, and living a counter-cultural lifestyle–is seeing yourself as a steward of your life, possessions, and even family, rather than an owner. Here’s what Aquila and Priscilla understood: everything we have is a gift from God. Everything we have is his; everything is given to us to use and cultivate and use on his behalf. We are the servants in Matthew 25, and one day our Master will look at all he entrusted us with. Will our master be pleased or disappointed in our stewardship?

GOD’S MISSION THROUGH YOUR PROCLAMATION

Our marriages, like everything else God gives us, are gifts from God to steward well for his purposes. Do we take his gift and make it about ourselves? Do we trade his purpose and mission for our selfishness and safety? Do we take marriage–the best display of the gospel to the world–and hide it away rather than using it to proclaim the glory, grace, and goodness of God?

Aquila and Priscilla were so sold out on God’s mission that they later moved to Ephesus with Paul. They stayed there when Paul continued on, and as a “husband-wife team,” directed their ministry into a young convert named Apollos (Acts 18:18-26). The scriptures that speak to this point in history show that that, as a couple, Aquila and Priscilla “discipled” this young man for a season just as they had opened their lives to Paul and the church at Corinth. And like Paul, God used Apollos to produce great fruit and bring himself great glory through the known world.

A CONVERGENCE FOR SAKE OF THE GOSPEL

By their actions, decisions, lifestyle, and their words, Aquila and Priscilla were a couple who proclaimed the gospel. What would your city be like if it was filled with couples devoting their lives and marriages to helping others understand the gospel of Jesus? What would your church be like if it was filled with families who opened their homes to life-on-life discipleship? What would it look like to see our marriages as gifts from God, for the sake of his mission, rather than our own selfish desires?

It is difficult. It battles everything in us that wants comfort, convenience, privacy, and silence. If we deny ourselves for his mission, we should be pitied--if Jesus didn’t raise from the dead. But he did! And in doing so, he transforms both our marriages and our mission; he gives us the only reason for living this way; he becomes the only reason for “intentionally illogical” decisions. In Jesus’ death, resurrection, and call on our lives, his mission and our marriages converge into a story that’s bigger than our own–the writing of which took a greater sacrifice than we’ll ever be asked to give.

In our marriages, we have the opportunity to put that story on display every day. Will we continue to live as married people, who separately, occasionally in our busyness, pursue ministry? Or will the gospel transform our time, priorities, and relationship, and unite those diverging streams into one, as we live out our new identity and converge God’s mission and our marriages?

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Special thanks to Ross Appleton for the foundational concept this article is built on.

Ben Connelly, his wife Jess, and their daughters Charlotte and Maggie live in Fort Worth, TX. He started and now co-pastors The City Church, part of the Acts29 network and Soma family of churches. Ben is also co-author of A Field Guide for Everyday Mission (Moody Publishers, 2014). With degrees from Baylor University and Dallas Theological Seminary, Ben teaches public speaking at TCU, writes for various publications, trains folks across the country, and blogs in spurts at benconnelly.net. Twitter: @connellyben. For related resources, including a FREE eBook by Ben Connelly & Bob Roberts Jr, visit everydaymission.net

Let's Mass Produce Discipleship

Discipleship. Discipleshift. Disciple-Making Disciples. It’s all the rage right now to talk about discipleship and we must. The current state of the declining church is the fruit of our lack of engaging in discipleship in recent history. It’s so bad that few even know what this looks like and so we’re left with a dilemma. How do we disciple all of these people who are in the church and have never been discipled?

In typical western and capitalistic fashion, we have tried to figure out how to mass produce discipleship. Websites, blogs, and discipleship pathways providing content have been developed. Programs and systems are in place to invite people to learn, know, and grow into a disciple, but have we missed the point altogether?

Jesus Could Have Mass Produced Discipleship. . . But He Didn’t

Jesus had the thousands waiting for his every word and the opportunity to mass produce discipleship was available. He could have told them to sit down; he would keep the food miraculously coming; he would download all the information they needed to become disciples and to go make disciples.

But he didn’t. Instead he gathered twelve men (Matt. 10:1-4) , three who were extra close to him (Matt. 26:36-46), seventy that hung around on the periphery and spent years with them (Lk. 10:1-12). He shared more than content, though he did teach them more than anyone else would know. He shared meals, laughter, probably made fun of Peter A LOT; he shared hurts, struggles, tears; he exhorted, encouraged, and modeled devotion; he performed miracles, taught them how, spoke vision into them, and rarely criticized.

He shared his heart, his doctrine, his every step of life, and his platform with them.

What were the results? A viral movement that changed the world.

In Acts, we see this personal viral approach spread beyond the original twelve. Thousands come to faith at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13), yet the scriptures track the individuals who influenced and shaped the lives of others rather than the mass gatherings.

Pieces of discipleship happened (and continue to) in mass gatherings, house to house, and personal investment, but the development of individuals is the primary concern. As we enter into the letters, Paul references specific people by name (Rom. 16), faithful workers and he didn’t just impart his theology through sermons, mass classroom teaching, online discipleship pathways, and more! No, he gave them his life.

They knew him, his strengths and his weaknesses.

The disciples created a movement without making a movement their aim. They invested in people, discipling them into being like Jesus and sent them to repeat the pattern. It’s because their aim was bigger than themselves and they knew the movement of God did not depend on them.

Have a Long-Term View that is Beyond Yourself!

The innovation that is taking places is good and healthy. New contexts require new approaches, systems, and ideas. But discipleship is more simple than we make it and takes longer than we ever wish it would. It has massive setbacks, discouragements, and slow progress toward great victories. There’s nothing more sanctifying, challenging, and rewarding.

But it requires that we not be in a hurry to mass produce disciples and end up making Pharisees with a massive amount of knowledge, little intimacy, and no holiness. We are trying to reproduce Jesus in people and that takes time. It took the church decades of neglect to get us to this big need and it will take decades of engagement in discipleship to get us out.

Is your vision only for your ministry, your church, and your time on earth, or is it for the next generations?

Jesus’ Master Plan

Learn from the content that is produced out there, but gather four to six men or women near you, invite them into your life, open the scriptures with them to teach them scriptural systematic theology that is transferable, pray with them, and fast with them. Hurt with them, fight with them through their struggles, celebrate their small victories, and give them opportunities to succeed and fail. Speak vision into them.

Take the content and teach it through your own life. It has greater impact in those you are discipling than gathering them around a DVD, curriculum, or teacher they don’t know.

Practically, this looks like Barnabas and Paul, Barnabas and John Mark, Paul and Timothy, Timothy to faithful men, faithful men to others also, and the same goes for women.

This personal discipleship must be combined or supplemental to the engagement in the broader community aims of the local church so it fulfills God’s call for that specific church. It is not a separate system; it is personal, communal, and driven by vision.

We mass produce discipleship by discipling a few who then disciple more and it multiplies. If we try another way, we’re just gathering crowds and assuming that our different variations of sermons will do the trick--that hasn’t worked for decades.

The master, Jesus, has shown us the plan. Let’s follow Him.

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Logan Gentry is the Pastor of Community and Equipping at Apostles Church in New York City. He blogs at Gentrified and has contributed to The Gospel Coalition. He is married to Amber and they have three children. Follow him on Twitter: @logangentry.

4 Ways to Sense God through Suffering

Sensing God Through Suffering

Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt that God was not there? Perhaps a love one died, or maybe you were just going through an extended season of loneliness. Maybe you had a serious illness that you were dealing with, or maybe you were dealing with constant relational issues. Perhaps, the various sufferings you were struggling with have caused you to question the existence of an all-loving God who cares for you deeply. Don’t worry, we’ve all be there. No one is exempt.

Whether you realize it or not, suffering can actually liberate you and help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. Let’s be honest with one another--nobody likes to suffer. There are so many times, because of our cognitive limitations, we just cannot understand why God would put us through such difficult times. However, if we submit ourselves before God and continue walking with him through our pain and suffering, we will begin to sense him more in all areas of life. God has a sovereign purpose in your suffering and he wants you to sense his presence throughout all the various trials you encounter. Do not turn away from him during this trial you are facing. Embrace him during this suffering and walk with him.

The reason that I believe this is because of the suffering that I experienced at the end of 2012. In November of that year, my grandmother passed away and I found out that my mom had cancer. It was one of the loneliest and darkest times of my life. However, it was through these trials that I began to sense God in a deeper and more profound way. It was almost like my “sense of the divine” was suddenly switched on. Ever since then, I have continued to focus on perceiving God within my own life and I hope that sensing God is something that you will put into practice in your own life as well.

As Christians, we must always be prepared and equipped to deal with the various hardships of life. In this post, I am going to discuss four ways that Christians can perceive that God is with them, even when the darkness is ever-present.

1. Sensing God Through the Gospel

When suffering is consistent, there is a need for a consistent message of hope. This message of hope is found in the resounding statement: “It is finished!” The good news of the gospel is the only message that will always be good no matter what season of life you are in. Though your trials may be many, the gospel is a message that can shine light even in the darkest of nights. The message that the Son of God came to seek and save the lost (Lk. 19:10) is a message available for you wherever you are at. Though the pit that you are in right now may be deep, God’s grace and love for you through the gospel of Christ is deeper. The gospel can help you perceive that God is with you during trials because God did not withhold his only Son from you, even when you were at your very worst (Rom. 5:8; Rom. 8:32). So go ahead and try preaching the gospel to yourself. The good news might help you sense the presence of your mighty Comforter right where you are.

2. Sensing God Through His Word

If you want to know what God is like, then you must read your Bible. It is just that plain and simple. However, all to often when pain is present we turn away from the living word of God. Why do we do this though when the Bible is in fact words given to us from the almighty God (2 Tim. 3:16-17)? Why do we find satisfaction in the pleasures of this world and not in the life-changing word of the God of the universe? When darkness closes in and despair is very near, you must plant your feet on God’s word. Just by reading the Scriptures aloud, you will begin to sense the joy and hope of your Father in Heaven through his all-comforting Word and the work of the Spirit.

3. Sensing God Through Prayer

When Jesus Christ was in the Garden of Gethsemane, with the cross in his sight, he prayed (Matt. 26:36-46). None of us will ever be able to comprehend the anxiety and stress he was facing at that moment. However, we can learn from Jesus that communion with God through prayer is indispensable, especially in times of struggle. By praying to our Father, we are able to experience him in a more intimate way (look at how David openly prayed and lamented in the Psalms). Perceiving that God hears you when you pray is what will embolden you to interact with him more and more. When trials of many kinds are present, do not hesitate to pray and enter into God’s presence.

4. Sensing God Through Worship

Have you ever realized that worship can be used as a weapon when you are suffering? What did Paul and Silas do when they were in prison (Acts 16: 25)? They worshiped. They did  this because their hearts and minds were on things above. Even though their circumstances should have caused them to despair (imagine being in a prison in the first century), they instead chose to worship and sing praises to the one true God. Praising the name of the Lord even in the darkest moments of life will allow you to sense that God is in your midst.

Implications For Discipleship

There is no doubt--God uses our sufferings to make us mature in Christ Jesus. All believers are called to press on through the sufferings of life because it cultivates perseverance within us (Js. 1:2-4). Remember, there is no crown of glory without going the way of the cross. Another beautiful thing about suffering is it helps us empathize with those who suffer after us (Eph. 4:2). Realizing that God is faithful through our trials, helps us to share the unshakeable hope of Christ with others when they are suffering. Maturing as a believer in Christ Jesus requires us to recall the faithfulness of God and praise him even when life doesn’t make sense (Job 1:21). When we are in the furnace, we must keep our eyes on our Savior and try to perceive that his grace and love is near. We do that through the gospel, his Word, prayer, and worship.

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Matt Manry is the Director of Discipleship at Life Bible Church in Canton, Georgia. He is a student at Reformed Theological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary. He also works on the editorial team for Credo Magazine and Gospel-Centered Discipleship. He blogs regularly at gospelglory.net.

How Productivity Advances the Gospel

Two Types of Wisdom

The first kind is the wisdom that helps us live in this world. It is the wisdom of how to do our work well, how to be a virtuous person, and how to be effective. This wisdom is good (Ecc. 2:13), but it is unable to take us beyond this life and show us the way to God (Ecc. 3:16-17).

The second kind of wisdom is the wisdom that leads to eternal life. That is the wisdom Proverbs has in view when it says things like “blessed is the one who finds wisdom” (3:13) and “she is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her” (3:18). This is the wisdom that consists in how to know God and live a life that is pleasing to him in a spiritual, eternal sense.

Often we downplay the first time of wisdom (how to live in this world) in light of the second type. But the Scriptures do not do this. As we saw earlier, when Paul commands us to “make the most of the time” and “walk as wise” people (Eph. 5:15-17), the first kind of wisdom is actually an essential part of his meaning. His command that we “walk as wise” is hooking up with Proverbs 6:6-8, which commands to be wise in the skill of living in this world.

Now it’s time to see that this is not the only type of wisdom Paul has in mind. Interestingly, Paul’s command that we be wise also hooks up with Proverbs 11:30, which says “the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.” So both types of wisdom—knowing how to live well in this world and pointing people to Christ—are the way we “make the most of the time.”

Here, then, is the question we need to ask: How do these two types of wisdom relate?

We can go further than simply saying that both are commanded. Even deeper than this, we can say there is actually a critical relationship between the two (which is what we would expect since Paul is alluding to both as involved in “making the most of the time”—that is, our productivity).

Advancing the Gospel Through Ordinary Life

This goes to the heart of the apostle Paul’s vision of the Christian life. Paul’s vision of the Christian life is not, as D. L. Moody allegedly said, about “getting everybody in lifeboats,” with everything else amounting to re-arranging the chairs on the Titanic.

Rather, Paul sees an essential and profound connection between the arena of our everyday lives and the advance of the gospel. This is evident in Ephesians 5:7-17, which provides the fuller context in which Paul commands us to “walk as wise” people who are “making the most of the time.”

It would take too long to go into all the exegesis, but Peter O’Brien nails it in his commentary on Ephesians when he shows that Paul is essentially saying that through living in a Christ-honoring way among unbelievers in the world—in the context of our jobs, communities, trips to the grocery store, and everything else we do in everyday life—the light of the gospel shines through our behavior, with the result that some people come to faith.

That’s what Paul means when he says “take no part in the unfruitful [that is, super unproductive!] works of darkness, but instead expose them” (5:11). The meaning of “expose” here is not “rebuke unbelievers when you see them sin.” Rather, the meaning is that by living a gospel-driven life you are walking as “light in the Lord” (5:8) and exhibiting the “fruit of light” (5:9), and that this light illuminates some unbelievers by causing them to see the futility of their ways and glory of Christ.

The result of living our Christian lives—wise in all respects, in terms of how we manage our time and our jobs as well as making sure to speak up about the gospel—is that many people around us will come to faith. That’s what Paul means when he goes on to say “but when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible” (5:13). That is, when anyone is illuminated by the light of your Christian walk, they become “light in the Lord” (cf. 5:8) just as you did. J. B. Philips gives a good paraphrase of this passage:

It is even possible (after all, it happened to you!) for light to turn the thing it shines upon into light also.

Paul's point is that the light has a transforming effect, and in Ephesians 5:13-17 he has described for us the process by which darkness is transformed into light. It is among the chief ways that “he who is wise wins souls” (Prov. 11:30).

This is the same exact thing Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:16 when he says “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” How do they glorify God? There are only two possible ways. First, and I think chiefly in view by Jesus here, is that some will glorify God by becoming believers as the witness the example of your gospel-drive (that’s part of the “light” that shines) good works.

The second way some will glorify God is by, on the day of judgment, being put to shame by seeing they had no basis on which to reject the Christian message (which Peter is probably alluding to in his allusion to Matt. 5:16 in 1 Pt.2:12).

Either way, it’s not boring to be around Christians and it will always have some type of impact. Otherwise, as Jesus said, you are sort of missing the point of your life. “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything” (Matt. 5:13).

In other words, the Scriptures make a connection between making the most of our time (productivity) and the advance of the gospel.

Hence, the true effect of being productive and “making the most of the time” as Christians will be the transformation of our communities, cities, societies, and nations for the sake of the gospel. Being productive in our lives is not separate from our task to transform the world through the light of the gospel; it is an integral part of it.

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Matt Perman formerly served as the senior director of strategy at Desiring God Ministries in Minneapolis, MN, and is a frequent speaker on the topics of leadership and productivity from a God-centered perspective. He has an MDiv from Southern Theological Seminary and a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute. Matt regularly blogs at What’s Best Next and contributes to a number of other online publications as well. He lives in Minneapolis. Follow him on Twitter @mattperman.

(Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from What's Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done by Matt Perman available on Zondervan. It appears here with the permission of the author and publisher.)

Love Actually

When blogging about the Christian worldview and framing apologetic arguments, there is typically (at least, there should be!) a heavy dose of truth involved. But what does Paul mean when he admonishes us to "speak the truth in love”? Paul makes an important point here, the subtlety of which can be easily missed. The obvious response to this verse would be: "Well, Paul is saying we shouldn't bash people over the head with the truth because that wouldn't be loving." This is true, but I think it goes deeper than that. I think it's worth exploring some further questions.

What does Paul mean by love?

It is useful to view Paul's statement in the context of Jesus' teaching: the first and greatest commandment is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37) and the second is "‘Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matt. 22:38). If we consider Paul's statement in light of these two commandments on which "all the Law and the Prophets hang" (Matt. 22:40), we can deduce that Paul is telling us to speak the truth as an outworking of our love of God and of people—not as a result of our love of the world, our love of popular approval, or our love of ourselves.

The Greek term for love Paul uses here is agape, a form of agapeis, which is also used by Jesus (agapaō) when he quotes the greatest commandments. The essence of agape is self-sacrifice. So then, speaking the truth should be done in self-sacrificial love as modeled by Jesus Christ. First, it should be to glorify God, and, second, to edify those who hear it. And speaking the truth may also be costly to us, costing us things like convenience, popularity, friendships, even our safety.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to love God and love others in a self-sacrificial way. Loving others without the Holy Spirit involves a self-serving, consumeristic form of love that actually takes away from God and other people more than it gives. This may not be immediately evident when we observe acts of love that are done in human strength such as generosity, kindness, or charity. Humans are created in the image of God, so in some ways we gravitate toward the notion of doing good unto others.

But, loving others in our own strength as well-intended as it may be, ultimately ends up being self-serving because of our fallen nature. Loving others certainly can provide us with a whole lot of earthly perks: a warm and fuzzy feeling, popularity and a good reputation, a wholesome family environment, a better marriage, or a safer community to live in. Loving others in our own strength, however, hardly ever leads us to speak the truth in love because it isn't God-honoring. Instead, it's more likely to make us smooth things over so things will be more comfortable for everybody. It can lead us to ignore inconvenient truths and live in denial. It can lead to double-mindedness, flattery, and people-pleasing. Living in the power of the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, gives us a supernatural ability to genuinely love others sacrificially. Christ-like love, however, is often rejected by the world and doesn't come with all the earthly perks we might desire.

What does Paul mean by truth?

We can see from the passage above, that the alternative to speaking the truth in love is spiritual immaturity (being like "infants") and susceptibility to being "tossed back and forth by the waves," to being deceived by every wind of teaching and the deceitful scheming of other people (Eph. 4:14-16). Paul, then, is urging us to teach others to obey God's commandments so that they will not be caught up in circumstances or be deceived by false teaching, but will instead be anchored in the truth so that they will mature and be built up in the Body of Christ.

This is the essence of discipling others, just as Jesus articulated before His ascension to heaven. He says, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20). Teaching the truth about God's commands as laid out in his Word is an integral part of discipling others and building up the Body of Christ.

Paul admonishes believers to handled the "Word of truth" accurately (2 Tim. 2:15). Paul makes it clear that the only way to do this is to understand that it’s in Christ alone in whom all truth is rooted. Speaking truth about the law like the Pharisees did is not what Paul means by handling the Word of truth accurately.

Paul resolved to "boast in nothing except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal. 6:14). While Paul stays with the Corinthian believers, he describes how,

"When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power." (1 Cor. 2:1-5).

Speaking the truth, then, must be Christ-centered—not relying on human wisdom, but on the power of God. Because speaking the truth in love rejects human wisdom, and centers on the stumbling block of Christ, it may be offensive others.

What does Paul mean by "in"?

The little word "in" carries a lot of weight here. Paul's admonishes us to speak the truth "in" love. He doesn't talk about speaking the truth "with" love or speaking the truth "about" love.  I think there is a subtle but significant distinction here.

First, loving actions and behavior towards others should provide the backdrop for speaking the truth. Young Life's founder, Jim Rayburn, talks about "earning the right to be heard" when ministering to young people and sharing the gospel with them. The gospel is best communicated within a context of friendship or service. I think Paul is saying something similar here: the truth is better received when it's delivered within the context of Christ-like love.

Interestingly, Paul didn't say speak love, he said speak truth. He isn't talking here about love as the content of what is being spoken. Have you ever heard the saying, "actions speak louder than words"? Simply saying nice things to someone without backing up our words with loving actions is disingenuous. Speaking words of love alone, can quickly turn into flattery and empty words. Love is more authentically demonstrated in the way we treat others. In other words, we need to aim at doing love, and speaking truth in a way that honors God first and foremost.

Second, our motive for speaking the truth should be rooted in our love of God and our love of people. The fact is, if we truly love someone, we will want to be honest with them. If you saw someone you loved self-destructing, you would do what you could to save them. In actuality, the only life-preserver that will save someone who's spiritually drowning is the gospel. This should be our motivation behind speaking the truth: to help others find the Way--Christ Jesus.

Keeping our motives pure can be costly. It can cost us friendships, popularity, and convenience. I am a people-pleaser by nature and as a result I am constantly struggling with the temptation to do and say things I think will make people happy or make people like me more. At times, it has been tempting for me to make a friend feel better about a problem they are having, rather than speaking the truth to them about their situation. The truth can make us uncomfortable. This can lead us to brush it under the rug, or tell ourselves a different, more palatable story. In doing this, however, we put our feelings before our obedience to God.

Finally, Paul shows that Christ-centered truth is inseparable from Christ-like love. As demonstrated above, love without truth is people-pleasing. But just as dangerous is truth without love, which can lead to hard-headed legalism, hatred, and division. Truth without love is like faith without deeds. And we know from James that faith without deeds is dead. "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder" (Jm. 2:18-19).

Head-knowledge alone doesn't save us, for even the demons know the truth. I have known people who have a keen grasp of theological concepts and can even articulate the atonement, for example, with amazing precision. However, their hearts have been unchanged by the gospel. Head-knowledge alone doesn't change the heart. We know from Scripture, "knowledge puffs up while love builds up" (1 Cor. 8:1). Head-knowledge can be a source of pride—an unhealthy form of self-love that turns us away from God. If we don't experience heart-change in response to the truth of the gospel, our faith is dead.

Essentially then, love and truth are interdependent. Truth is, by its very nature, completely submerged and saturated in love! God is love (1 Jn. 4:8), just as he is truth (Jn. 14:6). And the truth of the gospel of Christ is the purest expression of love. In other words, in Christ, love actually is truth. And love and truth are an integral part of discipleship.

As Paul shows us, speaking the truth in love is key to establishing unity in the Body of Christ. This is because what unifies us as believers is not brushing fundamental truths under the carpet to keep the peace, but rather upholding the Gospel of Christ in our churches and uniting together in the name of Jesus. Paul explains that with Christ as our Lord, believers will be united together, speaking the truth in love, as we "grow up in every way into Him who is the head," which allows the Body to "build itself up in love" (Eph 4:15-16).

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Anna-Maeve Martin has worked in international development, civil liberties, and church ministry (missions & outreach). She has two Master's degrees in History of Ideas (Leeds University, UK) and Government (University of Pennsylvania) and continues her studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is originally from England but now resides in Northern Virginia where she is a stay-at-home mom of three young daughters by day and a blogger by night at Faith Actually. Follow her on Twitter @FaithActually.

John Calvin and Assurance of God’s Love

Spiritual Dry Spells

Many times when we as Christians go through spiritual dry spells, we tend to think that God does not love us. In fact, I have met many people who have called their salvation into question when going through periods of doubt, sin, depression or all the above.

In his greatest work on theology, Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin writes:

When we stress that faith ought to be certain and secure, we do not have in mind a certainty without doubt or a security without any anxiety. Rather, we affirm that believers have a perpetual struggle with their own lack of faith, and are far from possessing a peaceful conscience, never interrupted by any disturbance. On the other hand, we want to deny that they may fall out of, or depart from their confidence in the divine mercy, no matter how much they may be troubled.

Calvin says that faith is not simply the removal of all doubt or disturbance. Faith is not certainty. Saving faith has very little to do with the strength of our faith or our ability to conjure up mental images to remove all worries. Calvin defines faith elsewhere in the Institutes as “a steady and certain knowledge of the divine benevolence towards us.”

Faith Rests in God’s Love

Faith is trusting that Christ will be faithful even in the times when we’re not faithful to him.

Faith is resting in the fact that God loves and enjoys us.

Far too often I put faith in faith instead of faith in Christ. This leads to a loss of peace and to my thinking that something is wrong with me or that I’m not even saved, just because I have doubts and worries.

But note Calvin’s comment: No matter how troubled we might be, that in no way changes Jesus’ love for us or our security in his salvation.

To say it another way, God’s love doesn’t waver even when our faith does.

Faith is trusting Christ instead of trusting in ourselves to trust Christ. There is a huge difference between the two. One looks upward; the other looks inward.

Look upward.

There’s No Condemnation

So what does this idea have to do with discipleship? The answer is everything. For discipleship to truly be gospel-centered there has to be a foundation of love, joy, peace, and justification. Without a foundation of knowing that you are accepted (even during the times you don't "feel" accepted) you never feel free of the guilt, shame, and condemnation that plagues you or your ministry.

In our discipleship, we far too often subtly try to earn what has already been given to us. There is a small voice in the back of our minds that wants to “do ministry well” so we can prove that we are not as bad as the voice in our head tells us we are.

The enemy cannot condemn the believer. Therefore, he will do the next best thing which is to make us feel condemned. This is almost just as good. Discipleship flows out of a loving relationship with Christ. If the enemy can get us to feel like Jesus hates us then we will be useless for his kingdom.

But the good news is that Jesus doesn't hate believers. He loves them enough to die for them, though he knows all the sins (and doubts, and feelings of condemnation, and feelings of self-hate) that they will ever experience.

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Zach Lee is Associate Home Groups Minister at The Village Church and is married to Katy.  Follow him on Twitter: @zacharytlee.

[© 2013 The Village Church, Flower Mound, Texas. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Adapted from “John Calvin on Faith and Assurance”.]

United: An Interview with Trillia Newbell

My friend Trillia Newbell has written a needed and helpful new book called United: Captured by God's Vision for Diversity. In United, Trillia explores the importance of pursuing diversity in the church by sharing her own unique experiences growing up in the South and attending a predominately white church. She champions the theology of diversity throughout the book through the Scriptures providing compelling reasons to pursue diversity. She was gracious enough to allow us to interview her today.

Brandon Smith: You write in United about your friendship with two girls of other ethnicities. How do you think the friendship, accountability, and discipleship helped you feel a part of your local church?

Trillia Newbell: There is something unique about really getting to know someone. We can walk into the doors of our churches and never build deep friendships. I was thankful to have met Amy (white) and Lillian (Chinese) early on. We decided to begin meeting together every other week to do accountability. The Lord used those girls in profound ways. First, it was so nice to have friends. When you are in a new place, as a new Christian, it can be scary to navigate your place in the church. But having friends like these helped ease that tension. Second, we had older women to bounce things off of and then we also had each other. We could ask pointed questions and pray for one another. It was a rich season of fellowship which taught me how to engage in fellowship with other members of the body.

B: You became a Christian in your 20's. Tell us about your conversion. How important is evangelism in the pursuit of diversity?

T: I was sitting in a hotel room with another gal when she popped open her Bible. I was there to lead a cheer camp and she was my assistant. We had never met each other before but the Lord had divinely appointed this meeting that would change the whole course of my life. I remember putting up a guard and asking her what she was doing. She said she was going to have a quiet time. By the end of that time I was sitting on her bed and we were both crying while she shared the gospel with me.

It took two years and two broken engagements before I finally submitted and committed my life to the Lord. He was faithful to draw me to himself and to save me. It was and remains amazing to me. But what if my friend, who is white, had decided not to share with me because I am black? What if she shrunk back in fear because of our ethnicities? The gospel transforms the way we think of ethnicity. The gospel empowers us to share cross-culturally because it is the Good News that all need to hear. Jesus charged the disciples to make other disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). This mindset is important to the pursuit of diversity because we could find ourselves otherwise reaching out to only those like us. God paints the beautiful picture of disciples of all nations, all tribes, and all tongues. He most often uses his people to accomplish this goal.

B: How important do you think discipleship is as churches seek to pursue diversity?

T: Perhaps you or your readers have experienced this…a person comes to your church for a little while but after a few Sunday’s they stop showing up. We might assume that they decided they didn’t like the teaching or worship. Maybe. But I wonder if they got to know anyone? I would wonder if anyone said hello and then invited them to lunch or showed some sort of hospitality and interest beyond a “Hello.” Discipleship typically starts with relationship and relationship begins with intentional care. In other words, we have to pursue one another first and then we have the opportunity to teach one another the Word. But there is almost no doubt that if we begin to pursue one another and teach one another then we will build churches that reflect the Last Days.

There isn’t a guarantee, of course. But I do think it’s worth the effort. God gives us a picture in Titus 2 of what it could look like for the whole church to be involved in discipleship. I think this model helps us to build into each other and build the church. I am confident that if I didn’t have people who genuinely cared for me during my early days attending my old church, I would not have stayed. I’m sure of it. But because there were people who showed love, care, and interest, I stayed and built relationships and was discipled.

B: You've shared often that United isn't so much about diversity as it is about love. Could you explain?

T: When people hear the word diversity there is a temptation to automatically put up a guard or to assume we are talking about quotas. It is a bad assumption but one that I completely understand. The word diversity has been politicized and causes many to cringe at its sound. But the Church is made up of people, made in the image of God, equal in fall and redemption. We aren’t talking about, as C.S. Lewis puts it, mere mortals. This is why the pursuit of diversity in the church is about love. Jesus came and died for the church, for His bride, for people. John 13: 6, God so loved the world that he gave his son, isn’t a cliché, it is the glorious truth of the gospel. Diversity is about building a church that reflects who Jesus died for: all nations, tribes, and tongues. And we pursue this because Christ first loved us. And we pursue others because he has called us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

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Trillia Newbell (@trillianewbell) is a wife, mom, and writer who loves Jesus. She is the author of United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity (Moody).

3 Essentials You Can’t Get Without the Church

In a recent book They like Jesus but Not the Church, Dan Kimball addresses some people’s negative view toward the church.  Sadly, the book is right about many people’s attitudes toward the church.  Before I was a Christian church was one of the last places on earth that I wanted to be.  Like many people, I thought church was boring, dry, stuffy, and irrelevant to my life. However, since I have become a Christian, I have grown to love the local church with all of my heart and have come to realize the church is essential to our discipleship. The truth is we need the church more than ever before. In an article “The Church Why Bother?” Tim Stafford says, “A living, breathing congregation is the only place to live in a healthy relationship to God. That is because it is the only place on earth where Jesus has chosen to dwell.”¹ The church is God’s plan for spiritual growth—there is no backup plan. Mark Dever says, “I’ve come to see that relationship with a local congregation is central to individual discipleship. The church isn’t an optional extra; it’s the shape of your following Jesus.”² Therefore, discipleship is one of the primary functions of the local church.

When we look to the Bible and church history, we see there are three things the church  alone can provide that are essential to discipleship and spiritual growth. The Reformation distinguished several unique marks of a healthy church including preaching and administration of the sacraments. The Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England (1563) says, “The visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men in which the pure word of God is preached and the sacraments duly administered according to Christ’s ordinance in all those things that necessity are requisite to the same.” In The Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin says, “Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to Christ’s institution, there, it is not to be doubted, a church of God exists.”³  The Belgic Confession (1561) adds a third mark of church discipline:

The marks by which the true Christian church is known are these: if the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached therein; if she maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ; if church discipline is exercised in punishing of sin; in short, if all things are managed according to the pure Word of God, all things contrary thereto rejected, and Jesus Christ acknowledged as the only Head of the Church.

The Word: Biblical Preaching and Discipleship

The first mark that plays an important role in discipleship is Biblical preaching. Mark Dever devotes the first chapter of Nine Marks of a Healthy Church to preaching the Word.  He also includes preaching in his chapter on discipleship and says, “A church in which there is expositional preaching will be a church that is encouraging Christian growth.”⁴ One of the goals, then, of Biblical preaching is Christian growth and maturity in the gospel making it essential for discipleship of believers. Dever goes on to say, “We need God’s word to be saved, but we also need it to continually challenge and shape us. His word not only gives us life; it also gives us direction as it keeps molding and shaping us in the image of the God who is speaking to us.”⁵

John Stott says, “Preaching is indispensable to Christianity. Without preaching a necessary part of its authenticity has been lost. For Christianity is in its very essence, is a religion of the Word of God.”⁶ This is based on a conviction of the primacy of preaching in the local church.⁷ Preaching makes the Word of God central to the entire worship service.

The Water: Baptism and Discipleship

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's newness of life in Christ Jesus. In the Great Commission, Jesus says to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). The fact that baptism is included in the Great Commission demonstrates that it plays an important role in discipleship. Stephen Smallman says that baptism is the first phase of being a disciple.⁸ Baptism is the initiation into the Christian community and the first steps into the life of discipleship. A new believer should be baptized because Jesus did it and taught it (Matt. 3:13-17).

Baptism is a public display and confession of faith of the free gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (Acts 2:38-39). The New Testament word for baptism is baptizo, which means to dip repeatedly.⁹ So, the biblical mode of baptism should be total immersion for believers who profess faith in Christ. Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears list the following support for this position:

• John the Baptist required that people repent of sin before being baptized.
• Every baptism in the New Testament is preceded by repentance of sin and faith in Jesus.
• Baptism is reserved solely for those people who have put on Christ.
• Baptism shows personal identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• The Bible does record occurrences where entire households were baptized.
• Both Jesus and His disciples gave the command for disciples to be baptized as an expression of that discipleship.¹⁰

Baptism is an amazing way for new Christians to feel accepted and loved by the Christian community. It can be an important celebratory event in believers’ lives, connecting them to the church family. Christians both old and new join together to celebrate the public declaration of faith of new believers. At Church of the Outer Banks, we make baptism a very special celebration. Several times a year we gather at the beach to perform ocean baptisms. After a new believer is baptized, we offer them an olive wood cross to commemorate their experience and entry into the community of faith.

The Wine: Lord’s Supper and Discipleship

In the midst of intimate community, early Christians shared the breaking of bread daily. We read in Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” The breaking of bread was a continual reminder of what Christ did for them. It was also a reminder of God’s continual presence and activity in the church: past, present, and future.

The Lord’s Supper is also commonly referred to as Communion or the Eucharist. The Lord's Supper is an act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate his second coming (Matt.26:26-27; Mk. 14:22-23; Lk. 22:17-19; 1 Cor. 11:20-24). While baptism is a one-time initiatory rite, the Lord’s Supper is a continuing rite that churches observe repeatedly.¹¹ Hammett says, “The Lord’s Supper is similar to an anniversary celebration in which wedding vows are renewed.”¹² John Wesley believed that the Lord’s Supper was one of the “chief” means of grace. He says:

“The chief of these means are prayer, whether in secret or with the great congregation; searching the scriptures; (which implies reading, hearing, and meditating thereon;) and receiving the Lord’s supper, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Him: And these we believe to be ordained of God, as the ordinary channels of conveying his grace to the souls of men.”¹³

We are spiritually nourished as we share in the Lord’s Supper. Christ spiritually feeds us with His body and blood. John Wesley says, “Our bodies are strengthened by bread and wine, so are our souls by these tokens of the body and blood of Christ. This is the food of our souls: This gives strength to perform our duty and leads us on to perfection.” God’s grace is given through the presence of the Holy Spirit as believers share in the memorial meal.

Next time you take the Lord’s Supper, reflect on the spiritual reality of what Christ has done for you through His life, death, and resurrection. In a way, the Lord’s Supper is a picture of what heaven will be like when we are all one at Christ’s table. At the table of the Lord, our differences no longer matter. Young, old, black, white, rich, and poor are all welcome at the Supper.

God gave us the gift of the church, which is Christ’s body. The local church is designed to be the context for our discipleship and spiritual growth. The Word, the Water, and the Wine are three discipleship essentials that we cannot do without. Likewise, you cannot have them without the church. They were instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ to remind us of His love and to help us grow in faith.

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Dr. Winfield Bevins serves as lead pastor of Church of the Outer Banks, which he founded in 2005.  His life’s passion in ministry is discipleship and helping start new churches. He lives in the beautiful beach community of the Outer Banks with his wife Kay and two daughters where he loves to surf and spend time at the beach with his family and friends. Twitter: @winfieldbevins

^{1. Tim Stafford “The Church Why Bother?”Christianity Today, 49, no.1 (January 2005): 42-49.↩ 2. Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. 16.↩ 3. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion. 21:1025-6 (4.1.9).↩ 4. Dever, 205.↩ 5. Ibid, 51.↩ 6. John Stott, Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982. 15.↩ 7. Ibid, 125.↩ 8. Stephen Smallman, The Walk, 186.↩ 9. Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1945.↩ 10. Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears, Vintage Church. 115-116.↩ 11. John S. Hammett, Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2005. 278.↩ 12. Ibid, 278.↩ 13. John Wesley, Works, 5:222. ↩}

New GCD Book: everPresent: How the Gospel Relocates Us in the Present

Today, we release the newest eBook from GCD Books--Jeremy Writebol’s everPresent: How the Gospel Relocates Us in the Present. You can buy a digital copy from the GCD Bookstore for $4.99 or get a paperback from Amazon for $6.17. Here’s an excerpt:

Where are you right now? Take a moment and look around...

As I write, I am sitting in a café on Bitting Avenue. I can smell the aroma of roasted coffee. I can hear the patrons of the shop discuss their lives, what they will see on TV this evening, the rise and fall of the economy, and who will win the Super Bowl. I feel the warmth of a heater turn on as it is an unusually cold day. Light streams in from the front windows and illuminates the orange walls to bring a warm, homey ambiance to the room. Latin American guitars and beats fill my ears as the music from the café stereo plays. The apple-carrot coffee cake I am eating has a sweet, buttery flavor to it. The padded chair where I am sitting keeps me comfortable but awake. Right now, I am in a place. There are specific and unique events happening in this space that are not occurring simultaneously anywhere else in the universe. This place is special. This place is one of a kind. This place is the only place where I can be in the world right now.

This is not true of God. The Bible tells us that God fills heaven and earth (Jer. 23:24). It says that the highest heaven is not large enough to contain God (1 Kgs. 8:27). Nor is there a single place in the entire universe where a human can go and God not be present (Ps. 139:7–10). The word "omnipresent" sums up this spatial reality of God. He is present everywhere, all the time, in every way. He is not limited by anything and is fully present wherever he is, which is everywhere. Maybe we should venture down the path of comparison. We’ll start with God. He is immense and infinite. He alone can be spatially present everywhere all the time. You and I, on the other hand, can’t even exist in two places at once. This comparison can be helpful to put us in our place.

But we need more than just a reminder of how ant-like we are. We need to see the importance of our limitation and the uniqueness of our specific place. We need to see that we are inferior to God in our inability to be everywhere present. And yet the places we inhabit, and specifically our presence in those places, has deep importance. Maybe we do need to be put in our place. What if being "put in our place" isn’t about being humbled to insignificance but elevating our vision to see dignify the places we inhabit; to see that our presence is valuable and deeply important. We need to talk about God’s space and place.

The Creation of Place

As I sit here at the café, I am privy to some special things: color, taste, smell, feeling. I can see two musicians meeting with a local artist to discuss album cover designs. Various cars drive by in front of me. Occasionally, I see a biker, although the winter cold prevents this from happening too frequently. This is a very unique place. It is a very creative place.

Who made it? Why was it made? If we ignore the Biblical story, we don’t have great, cosmic answers for these questions. But if we look at the opening pages of Scripture, we have a fascinating drama unfolding before us. The first words of divinely inspired writing from the pen of Moses declare that in the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). Location is created. All of a sudden there is the creation of "place." Place alone, however, is boring. We have heaven and earth. Two categories, two ideas, but not really specific realities. The story continues to unfold.

God doesn’t just make categories; he creates places. The earth is filled with vegetation, inhabitants, colors, creatures, textures, liquids, solids, atmospheres, environments—places. The specific place called the Garden of Eden is unique. There are places within the Garden. A river flows through the Garden. The middle of the Garden has specific and diverse vegetation. Four rivers diverge from the main river on the outskirts of the garden. They flow to places with specific names and specific features. Some of those places have gold, some have precious gems. Each distinct. Each unique. Each a special place.

God, who cannot be limited by place, creates multiple locations. He makes places. Each of them are as unique and varied as he is. All of them created good. All of them beautiful. All of them reflecting and imaging his creativity and his diversity. Why does he make these distinct places? He makes them for himself. He creates all the diversity of place and location, with all its varied colors and dimensions, to display his varied and multi-colored glories. The song at the end of the Scripture story sings praise to God because he has "created all things and by [his] will they existed and were created" (Revelation 4:11). The everywhere-present God makes places because he can’t help himself. Place is an overflow of his creative glory. Worship is our response.

Does Place Matter?

Why does all this matter? Since showing up at this specific café, I have noticed the flow of traffic in and out of the store. The aromas that exist in this room now are especially different than the ones that were here a few hours ago. The sounds are new, different, exciting. The musicians are playing their guitars and harmonicas now. It is a new and different place than the one that existed an hour ago. This place is unique and one-of-a-kind again.

Place or location is created by God for his glory. That means that everywhere we go, every location we inhabit, every neighborhood where we dwell is made for God. It shows us a multi-faceted and creative God, a God who is so unique and innovative that one specific location alone could not reflect his glory well. Each place sings the glories of God. Each location tells of his wonders. Each address displays his majesty. Does place matter? On every level, it inherently must.

The way the glory of God is seen at the Grand Canyon is different than the way his glory is seen on Bitting Avenue. The majesty of God takes on a different view in Mumbai, India than it does in London, England. The worship of God sounds different in the jungles of Ecuador than it does in the high rises of New York City. Yet each place is made by his will and for his glory. Each place has a specific role to play in declaring the glory of God, and no one place holds a monopoly on the display of that glory.

This isn’t to say, in some sort of pantheistic way, that God is in everything or that we each have to find our own way of expressing him wherever we are. Just as a diamond will refract light differently in different places, so God’s glory is seen differently in different places. Some places reveal it better than others. We cannot dismiss the broken and dark places of this world. They do not reflect the glory of God well. It is difficult to see the mercy and justice of God in the slums of Rio or the prisons of Iran. Not every place seems like it is God’s place. This is why there must be restoration. If every place is made by God, for God, then the broken places that do not reflect God’s glory must be restored. It’s for this reason that every place matters.

If all things are created for his glory and if all places should uniquely reflect the varied glories of God, then we are called to see our places (including our workplace) as places of worship. Our specific place becomes uniquely important to our lives because it is from this place, and this place alone, that we can magnify God and bring glory to him. I look at my friendly café and I wonder: “How is God’s presence displayed here? How is this place reflecting his glory? Where do I see his fingerprints of majesty? Does the coffee, the conversation, the art, and the atmosphere reflect anything of God’s nature and glory?”

Take a moment and look around (once again) at the place you are inhabiting as you read this sentence. How does this place glorify and magnify God? How does it reflect his multi-faceted nature? What do you see?

God has created this very place where I am writing. He has created the very place where you are reading. He has created it by his will. He has created it for his glory. Now, you might challenge that statement because you know some architect drew up the design for this building and a contractor came in and had carpenters, builders, electricians, and plumbers actually make this place. But under God’s authority, using the agency of humanity, he created and holds all things together (Col. 1:15). Place matters because God made it matter. You might feel indifferent to this place right now because it isn’t where you want to be or because it is somehow broken and in disrepair. This place might be a comfortable, quiet place for you right now. It might be a place that doesn’t belong to you; you are a visitor in it for only a season. Whatever the situation, because God has made it and made it for his glory, you are suddenly in God’s place.

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Jeremy Writebol(@jwritebol) has been training leaders in the church for over thirteen years. He is the author of everPresent: How the Gospel Relocates Us in the Present (GCD Books, 2014) and writes at jwritebol.net. He lives and works in Plymouth, MI as the Campus Pastor of Woodside Bible Church.

Eternity Changes Everything: An Interview with Stephen Witmer

In Eternity Changes Everything, you claim that, for Christians, a passion for our future in the new creation will affect our lives in the present. Why? Because we’re human, and humans inevitably live toward the future. The philosopher Peter Kreeft says we “live by hope. Our hearts are a beat ahead of our feet. Half of us is already in the future; we meet ourselves coming at us from up ahead.” I think he’s right. Just ask any school teacher whether an approaching summer vacation stays in the future. Of course not! Kids get restless and rowdy in the weeks before, because their future is impinging on their present. The future often gets to us (in our thoughts and feelings) before we get to it (in our actual experience).

Check out how all the practical exhortations of Romans 12-13 are framed by the call to not be conformed to “this age” and the call to “know the time,” that “the day is at hand.” When we’re living, and what we’re living toward, shapes how we’re living.

I was blown away when I read something George Marsden wrote in his biography of Jonathan Edwards: “If the central principal of Edwards’ thought was the sovereignty of God, the central practical motive in his life and work was his conviction that nothing was more momentous personally than one’s eternal relationship to God…He built his life around disciplines designed constantly to renew that eternal perspective.” Marsden then goes on to give some remarkable advice to those who want to better understand Edwards’ writings. He says if we think something Edwards has written seems harsh, difficult, or overstated, we should ask the question: “How would this issue look if it really were the case that bliss or punishment for a literal eternity was at stake?” My first response to reading Marsden’s advice was to wonder whether the life to come is so foundational to my thinking that it could serve as a key for people who want to understand who I am and what I say. I hope my life doesn’t make sense apart from the reality of the new creation. There’s a big problem if it does.

So, where do you see a need for improvement in how Christians think about the new creation?

Too many of us have bought into the wrong-headed notions of our culture. The other day in the children’s section of our local library, I saw a book on Heaven by Maria Shriver (yes, the Maria Shriver). The Heaven in this book is a place of fluffy clouds and disembodied existence. And that’s normal: Heaven is often thought of as solitary, static, and boring. In 2007, Starbucks printed on their paper cups some wickedly funny and surprisingly insightful lines from Joel Stein, a columnist at the Los Angeles Times: “Heaven is totally overrated. It seems boring. Clouds, listening to people play the harp. It should be somewhere you can’t wait to go, like a luxury hotel. Maybe blue skies and soft music were enough to keep people in line in the 17th century, but heaven has to step it up a bit. They basically are getting by because they only have to be better than hell.”

Of course, the Heaven Stein describes isn’t the biblical portrait of Heaven at all–it’s our modern, misconceived notion of Heaven. Some recent books–such as Randy Alcorn’s Heaven and N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope–have been really helpful in explaining the biblical teaching on Heaven, as well as distinguishing the present Heaven (where we go when we die) from the future new creation, which is a renewed creation in which we’ll live an embodied existence forever. The new creation will be an incredibly exciting place to live, and it will be great above all because God is there. We get God…forever. Yet, sadly, I’ve spoken with people who have been Christians for many years who don’t understand this biblical teaching about our ultimate future.

If we understand the greatness of our ultimate future in the new creation, and begin to long for it, how will this affect our living in the present?

It’s going to create two impulses: we’ll become more patient in waiting for the new creation, and simultaneously, we’ll become more restless in longing for it. That sounds like a contradiction. It’s not.

Why not?

Well, we often have this experience in life. When we’re convinced that something really, really good is coming to us, that certainty simultaneously lengthens our patience and heightens our restlessness. If you know Thanksgiving dinner is going to be absolutely fabulous, you’ll start anticipating it well before it’s on the table and on your plate. The smells emanating from the kitchen will make your mouth water. But–at the same time–because you know dinner will be phenomenally good, you won’t snack on Doritos. Who wants to fill up on junk food when turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce are on the way?! You’ll be patient.

Christians lived in a permanent and productive tension. We are a restlessly patient people, and that’s biblical. In Romans 8.23-25, Paul says the certain, glorious hope of the new creation makes us groan restlessly and wait patiently.

Why, and in what ways, do Christians fail to wait patiently for the new creation?

Two words: prosperity gospel.

We’re children of our culture, and most of us realize that our culture has a massive problem with waiting. The Dunkin Donuts in my town actually times their employees to the second on their drive-thru service so that customers get their donuts and coffee as fast as humanly possible. None of us are immune from this impatience. Have you ever exclaimed in dismay that your internet search took longer than two seconds? I have.

The radical impatience of our culture affects Christian theology and practice. I look around the Christian scene today and grieve at the huge influence of the prosperity gospel. There was a report in The Atlantic a few years ago that said 50 of America’s 260 largest churches preach a prosperity gospel. Apparently, 66 percent of Pentecostals and 43 percent of ‘other Christians’ think that God will bless the faithful with material wealth. Have they read Hebrews 10.34?! What the health and wealth teachers are telling you is that the new creation is available now. Their teaching is deeply flawed eschatology. The Scriptures reveal to us a God who often makes his people wait. There’s a whole biblical theology of waiting that the prosperity teachers completely miss.

Of course, we can’t just point the finger at the health and wealth teachers. In the course of writing this book, I was convicted of the personal, mini-prosperity gospels I create for myself by daily expecting good health, plentiful finances, friendly neighbors, and obedient children. I recently replaced the catalytic converter in our car (expensive!). Now the “check engine” light is on in our other car, indicating the same problem. How will I respond to that? Will I expect the new creation now, and grumble that I still live in an age where things fall apart and cars need repaired? Or will I be thankful to own two cars, and cheerfully patient for the coming age, when they’ll run forever (or be unnecessary).

Why, and in what ways, do Christians fail to yearn restlessly for the new creation?

We’re not restless enough for the new creation because–as I’ve said–we think it’s going to be boring. One long worship service. Or a millennia-long harp solo. Moreover, we’re not restless for the future because we’re absorbed with the lesser pleasures of our present. God has given us a future the size of the new creation. We shrink it down to the size of a long weekend or a Facebook page or a promotion at work. We settle for far less than God plans to give. Because we invest all our emotional energy and passion in our immediate future, we have none left for our ultimate future.

Christians of our generation do not spend nearly as much time thinking about our eternal future as did Christians in previous times. The Puritan Richard Baxter said that as he grew older, he meditated more frequently upon the “heavenly blessedness,” and that he preferred to “read, hear or meditate on God and heaven” more than any other subject. Stephen Nichols says that Jonathan Edwards was “consumed by heaven.” Are we? How much time in the last month have we devoted to reading about, praying about, longing for, the new creation? I wonder if, for most of us, we’d have to say it was less than five minutes.

What fruit does a restless longing for the new creation bear?

For one thing, it allows us to die well. I’ve been at enough deathbeds to know that if you’re not confident and excited about what’s coming next for you as a Christian when you die, you’re going to die clinging to this life rather than embracing the life to come. It’s really sad to watch people go that way, with their backs to God’s future. Christians with a passion for the new creation will die facing forward.

Restlessly longing for Heaven also allows us to live well. Richard Baxter said that the mind will be like what it most frequently feeds on. That’s so insightful. If you become absorbed in some mindless reality TV show, you’ll tend to become as flat and shallow as it is. But if you feed your mind on heaven, your soul will begin to look heavenly. For Baxter, heaven was more than a comfort when things in this life were tough–it was also a reality that produced present obedience and strengthened him against sin and temptation. I can testify to the latter in my own life. I remember vividly a time several years ago when my longing to see God in the future (Matt. 5:8) saved me from serious temptation. God’s promised future trumped inferior, sinful promises.

Final question: will too much focus on the new creation make Christians less engaged with this present world? Is there some truth in the old saying about being so heavenly-minded we’re no earthly good?

No, it’s exactly the opposite. C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.” Amen! A paradoxical Christian life of restless patience produces yet another beautiful paradox: we need this world less and love it more. And that love moves us into the world with fearless, fruitful productivity. But you’ll have to read the book to get the full story on this!

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Stephen Witmer is the author of Eternity Changes Everything: How to live now in the light of your future (Good Book Company). He is the pastor of Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell, MA and teaches New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Follow him on Twitter: @stephenwitmer1.

Doubt Is Not a Disease

Should we focus on engaging those who are skeptical about the truths of Christianity? Should Christians who are struggling with their faith join a discipleship group? Should the Church spend more time and resources engaging the doubts that people have in regards to Jesus Christ? Well, yes.

Pastor Timothy Keller once said:

“A faith without some doubts is like a human body with no antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask the hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.”

Keller makes it clear that in today’s world we must be willing to acknowledge the doubts that we have and to confront them. Sometimes evangelicals tend to overlook the doubts that people struggle with and just sweep them under the rug. This is not the solution. Church leaders must focus on discipling those who are struggling with doubt. Here is what Scripture reveals to us about faith and doubt.

Faith is a Gift

In Romans 12:3 the Apostle Paul says, “For by the grace given to me I say to every-one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has as-signed.” As we meditate on this verse, we are able to see that God gives out different amounts of faith to his people. The measure and amount of one’s faith depends totally on what God has assigned. Faith is a gracious gift from God. However, we are also able to see that doubt is a tool that our Father in Heaven uses for his purposes and plans. In God’s sovereignty, he sometimes uses doubt as a tool to drive us to Jesus Christ. All of this is done in his perfect timing. With that framework in mind, we can now turn our attention to examining why doubt should not be taboo.

Scripture reveals many doubters to us. The disciple, Thomas, is probably most widely known for struggling with doubt (Jn. 20:24-29). However, there are plenty of others who are worth mentioning. Abraham struggled with believing that God could make him a father in his old age (Gen. 17:17). Moses did not believe God could use him to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 3:10-15). Peter struggled with belief, when he almost drowned at sea (Matt. 14:28-32). So if you struggle with doubt, know you are not alone. The Bible is full of doubters who were used by God for his sovereign purposes, and there is no question he can use those who struggle with doubt today.

There are plenty of men and women you probably know who struggle with doubt within your church. These people should not be treated as inferior Christians. They should not be treated as people who have an infectious disease. When we understand that faith is a gift and that the measure of one’s faith does not determine the level of one’s spiritual maturity, we will finally be a people who do not drive doubters away from the church. The church should always be a place for skeptics and saints alike.

If all of us were honest with ourselves we would admit that doubting as a Christian is not abnormal. When Christians go through intense trials or have been praying for God to answer a specific prayer over a prolonged period of time with no answer, doubts arise. Does this suggest they are not trusting God enough? Perhaps not. I have found myself more than once in my life exclaiming in prayer the same words uttered by the father of a demon possessed child (Mk. 9: 21-24). The simple prayer: “I believe; help my unbelief,” is indeed a prayer that should be included in almost every Christian’s life.

The reason this prayer should be included in our prayer life is because of the ever-present reality that Christians struggle with doubt. This should not make us feel ashamed. We must always remember that Jesus Christ still heals the child in Mark 9 despite his father’s doubt. This should encourage us because it serves as a constant reminder that God still works with us and in us through our doubts.

Picture yourself in a home group filled with both skeptics and mature believers. Imagine the diversity of this group. Skeptics are able to voice their concerns and ask questions about the faith. Mature believers are able to evangelize and present the gospel message in a practical way. This benefits both parties and there is no question that a community like this would encourage skeptics and believers.

The Gospel for Doubt

There is good news for those who are struggling with doubt, and that is the message of the gospel. The good news proclaims to both skeptics and saints that God has done everything for us through Christ Jesus. His faith excels where our faith falters. Unbelievers and believers should acknowledge their doubts and always be willing to confront them head on. The church can help in this area. The gospel is the message that the church should always proclaim because it is the only message that has enough power to provide confidence for both the unbeliever and the believer.

An unbeliever might be struggling with doubting certain tenets of Christianity, and he might need to be confronted with an apologetic defense of the faith, but that should never take complete place over the gospel message. Hearing the gospel proclaimed is what leads to faith (Rom. 10:17). For a believer, the gospel is what encourages the Christian to look to Jesus Christ and his finished work even in the midst of doubts. Christians must preach the gospel to themselves because it serves as an antidote for the doubtful heart and mind.

The Church should always do everything it can do to help those who are struggling with doubt. There are various ways that this could be done, but I believe that the most effective way is by explicitly and constantly proclaiming the good news of what Christ Jesus has done for sinners. And we must always remember that faith is a gift, and doubt is not a disease.

_

Matt Manry is the Director of Discipleship at Life Bible Church in Canton, Georgia. He is a student at Reformed Theological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary. He also works on the editorial team for Credo Magazine and Gospel-Centered Discipleship. He blogs regularly at gospelglory.net.

The Danger of Not Doubting

“Who is Jesus?” I asked my students on the first day of class.

“The son of God”

“God”

“The Savior”

They concluded drearily between secretly checking their smart phones and staring vacantly at me, as if I were speaking Portuguese. So I ask again, “Really, who is Jesus?”

If you had walked into the classroom, you would’ve assumed we were practicing our awkward silences.

I teach Bible classes at a nice little Christian high school with about sixty students and a fairly conservative culture. They’re good kids. Most of them are remarkably bright and incredible at Bible trivia. But something is missing.

The students, like most students, have been taught to memorize and regurgitate information. They are actually pretty good at it. And my students have had the added blessing of memorizing and regurgitating incredible Biblical truths on a daily basis for most of their lives. But there is, for the most part, a lack of any realization that the Biblical truths they are memorizing are actually true!

I believe their apathy (and all apathy) is rooted in deep doubts about the goodness, practicality, and truth of the information they’re being taught. In high school, I hated math because I doubted its usefulness and I didn’t trust Old Man Marley for the first half of Home Alone because I thought he was secretly a bad guy.

I believe a lot of these students have doubts about who God is, why they have to read the Bible, and what the “good news of Jesus Christ” has to do with anything. Not because they weren’t raised in godly Christian homes, or because they are rebels—but because they are human. Humans doubt truth. We always have.

Doubt

When we approach the profound truths of God or anything, really, sometimes we just see a black hole—something that seems impossible to comprehend, enjoy, or believe. We doubt every day. Every time we fear the unknown, we practice doubt. We cannot just ignore or write off doubt. We must wrestle with it.

Belief is essential in the Christian life. John wrote his account of the life, death, and resurrection “so that [we] may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:31). Paul says that grace comes to us “through faith” (Eph. 2:8). And Jesus says that the work of God is to believe in Jesus!

But belief isn’t easy. Belief is not simply scoring high marks on a Bible quiz. It’s the pursuit of truth—an investigation into the depths of reality. As Jonathan Dodson says in Raised?,

“Anything worth believing has to be worth questioning, but don’t let your questions slip away unanswered. Don’t reduce your doubts to a state of unsettled cynicism. Wrestle with your doubts. Find answers. If you call yourself a believer don’t settle for pat proofs, emotional experiences, or duty-driven religion. Keep asking questions.”

My students had been catechized well, but they had never wrestled with their doubts, and in turn most have never interacted with the living Jesus. They assume that expressing doubts will get them in trouble —but really, they will be in much deeper trouble if they never ask “what does this mean?” Despite what they may think, their doubts may, in fact, be from God.

Just as God came down from heaven to wrestle with (not to catechize!) Jacob (Gen. 32), doubts may at first seem to be an enemy, but prove to be dear friends. As George MacDonald observed,

Doubts are the messengers of the Living One to the honest. They are the first knock at our door of things that are not yet, but have to be, understood…Doubt must precede every deeper assurance; for uncertainties are what we first see when we look into a region hitherto unknown, unexplored, unannexed”

Our doubts can take us deeper into the knowledge of God—not further away, as many fear. When we wrestle with God, we come away changed.

So this semester, I have decided to encourage doubt in my classroom. While I will be teaching my students the fundamentals of Missiology (the topic of my course), I also want to teach them to wrestle with God. I want them to ask the hard questions—to really ask themselves (and me) “what does this mean?” I foresee a long semester ahead, but as a student wrote on a worksheet last week, “if you don’t ask questions, you won’t get answers.”

Using Doubt in Discipleship

How can we steward doubt—“messengers of the Living One to the honest”—in the already messy process of disciple making? I don’t know exactly, but here are five general thoughts on disicpling amidst doubt.

1. Don’t Ignore Doubt Have the courage to look for doubt. When someone gives a “Sunday School” answer, don’t be afraid to search for the heart behind the answer. Maybe there is a true, orthodox love for God behind that “right answer,” but that isn’t always the case. Jesus didn’t ignore Thomas’ doubt, instead he directly engaged it. Jesus didn’t condemn him for his doubt, but told him,

“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20:28)

2. Be Humble Just because you may not wrestle with nagging doubts about the resurrection right now doesn’t mean the doubts of others are not legitimate. Pride is particularly deadly, when you are instructing others. Humbly encourage doubters to draw from the same well of truth you have.  This will foster a safe environment for others, as they wrestle with their doubts.

3. See Doubt as an Opportunity Doubt can certainly lead to sin, but doubt can be an opportunity to trust and seek God. Encourage yourself and others to “see doubt as the door to that which is unknown, but must be known.” Faith is not the absence of doubt, but the “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).  God can, and historically has, used honest doubts as an opportunity to lead believers to rest, repent, and believe. Doubt is an opportunity to encounter the living truth, and, as Sir Francis Bacon observed, “no pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of truth.”

4. Remember the Gospel The absolutely certain, imputed, and active righteousness of Christ shows us our doubt is not our demise. Doubts do not stop God from saving, loving, and pursuing his people! This means, when a brother or sister in Christ is wrestling through doubts—intellectual or otherwise—God still loves them, and still views them as perfectly hidden in Christ. The cross is doubt-proof—as much as we doubt, we cannot change the glorious, historical truth that Jesus died once for sin. This means that every question is safe to ask and no doubt is too big for the cross to overcome! Jesus’ perfect lack of doubt has overcome our doubt.

5. Remember that God Transforms Doubt Thankfully, God does not leave doubters in their doubt. God has a long record of intervening in human history and radically transforming even the strongest doubters. From Moses (Exod. 3) to Job to Jonah to Thomas, God works through those who have deep doubts about God and their call. Consider Sarah,

The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” (Gen. 18:9-12)

God promised things that seemed impossible. Our humanness wants to doubt God because, honestly, some of the things God promises are insane. But God delivers. Sarah laughed at the thought that God could ever fulfill His promises, but God answered Sarah’s doubts and through it, glorifies Himself,

“The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” (Gen. 21:1-7)

Sarah’s laughter was transformed from doubt to joy. God answered Sarah and God answers our doubts. God replaces our doubt with worship. The burden of proof is on God, and God comes though.  This is the only hope I have that my high school students will encounter God in the foolishness of what I teach.

Conclusion

We never “arrive” and we will never know everything. As long as sin wages war against the Spirit, we will struggle with doubts. But thankfully, we are not alone in this struggle. Our perfect righteousness, hidden in Christ, is secure despite our doubts. And God has promised to be with us in our fight with doubt. My students may not “get the gospel” this semester, they may play Flappy Bird in class instead of wrestling with truth, but as Jonathan Dodson rightfully notes in Raised?,

“Those who are skeptical and struggling with belief, Jesus remains ready to receive your questions. He will listen to your doubts”

_ Nick Rynerson lives in Normal, Illinois (no, seriously) with his groovy wife, Jenna. He received his B.A. from Illinois State University and currently serves as a deacon and pastoral intern at Charis Community Church in Normal. He writes regularly for Christ and Pop Culture, and is passionate about Americana music, (lower case) orthodoxy, and whatever he’s been reading lately. Connect with him on twitter @nick_rynerson or via email.

6 Ways to Make Christ Central at Home

Family is, rightfully, one of the most emphasized points in the modern church. Seminars, parenting videos, books, sermon series, and a litany of parachurch ministries focus on the family. While these resources are often good, I believe a vital element has been missing in our approach to parenting. I often ask my students if they remember their church hosting family oriented events such as marriage retreats and sermon series. Virtually everyone recalls such a focus. Then I ask, “How many of you recall an emphasis in these events or resources on evangelizing your children or raising them to become Great Commission Christians?” Very few recall such an emphasis.

Who Should Evangelize Our Children?

Nothing matters more to Christian parents than that their children become passionate followers of Christ. Yet, we hardly ever talk about that in the church. And raising children with a focus on the Great Commission seems about as common as a lemonade stand in the Sahara Desert. I believe this stems, in part, from the institutionalism in our churches, as if presenting Christ to our children was the job of "the church" rather than the parents. Perhaps we also (falsely) assume parents are evangelizing their kids.

Being a parent must be the most exciting, frightening, inspiring, upsetting, amazing, routine, joyful and, at times, sorrowful experience in life. I spend a lot of time with youth. Many of them do not have a close relationship with their parents. Many rarely see a family that loves one another. Marriages end in divorce, with fatherless children, and mothers who struggle to get by. How can we avoid this path? How can we cultivate a Christ-centered home?

Christ-centered Home

In Deuteronomy 6, Moses addresses parents and other adults saying: “Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Jesus called this the Greatest Commandment. Surely it should be central in any Christian home!

In your decisions as a family, do you seek first to listen to God? Does your family put following what God says above all else? If so, does a passion for the lost have a central part in your home? Sometimes we miss the centrality of loving God above all when we tell our children to get a good education, good job, but fail to place as much emphasis on hearing and loving God. If God really is this lovely, worthy of our affection and devotion, then do we inspire our children to share the good news about Him, to know and enjoy Him through Jesus?

We bought our current home with these things in mind. We picked a home that was: 1) In a neighborhood of folks not actively churched (and we have great neighbors!) 2) Designed to help us focus on being together: large great room with TV, computer all there. Growing up, our children spent very little time in their rooms because we shared a home, not just a house. Parents who model love for God and family, use their years together to not only love one another but also welcome in the lost. A Christ-centered home is an evangelistic home.

How to Make Christ Central at Home

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 provides a great outline for parenting:

”These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

The notion that spiritual training is primarily the job of the church and, in particular, teens the responsibility of a student pastor, is NOT taught in the Bible. Deuteronomy 6 puts the responsibility for the spiritual training of a child squarely on the shoulders of parents. We are to instruct them, literally “sharpen the knife,” and live truth before them. What does this look like? While it certainly involves active participation in a gospel-centered church, it also includes imparting a longing for the salvation of the neighbors and the nations.

Allow me to breakdown the passage in six practical ways:

1. "These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart:” Our children should see us spending time in God’s Word, sharing our faith, and demonstrating Christ-like character. They should be aware that the gospel has changed me and is continuing to change me. That includes family worship, family discussions, and family participation in the local church.

2. “Repeat them to your children:” I should be instructing my children, particularly when young, about the things of God. I should help them see how to live out a biblical worldview, making decisions in all arenas of life from a biblical perspective. I should not raise them to be faithful citizens in a religious subculture, but to see all of creation with biblical eyes.

3. “Talk about them when you sit in your house:” We do not talk about Jesus to others because we do not talk about Him much in our homes. Family mealtime provides a great avenue for talking about Jesus and teaching everything from civility to life lessons. Shared activities with children provide further opportunities for instruction. Research has shown the significant impact of regular family meals. Eat together and invite others to your table.

4. “When you walk along the road:” The church and the home are not the only places to learn how to live and share Christ. Our activities, from talking to the waitress at the restaurant to being courteous at the mall, help show how to live out our faith rather than compartmentalizing it in the confines of our house and the church building. Simply talking to our neighbors about things that matter help children see the world through missionary eyes. Talk about Jesus in everyday life.

5. “When you lie down and when you get up” Bedtime, especially for younger children, provides a great time for prayer and instruction in spiritual things. Sit at the end of the bed just a little longer to remind them of spiritual things. Prayer together is important. One Lifeway study showed that 88% of Christian families never prayed together ever regularly. We can hardly complain about prayer being taken from the public schools if we are not praying in our Christian homes. Pray morning and evening with your kids.

6. "Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates:” I suppose this could include Christian symbols and expressions in our homes, but more importantly, it is vital we incorporate the gospel into the fabric of the family. Is the gospel alive in how we discipline, make family purchases, and respond to suffering? Do our interactions with our neighbors should communicate Christ. We need much more than “Christian” conferences and T-shirts. We need Christ applied to the nitty-gritty of life.

Take a moment to consider what role the Great Commission has in your home. How can you and your spouse make changes to cultivate a more Christ-centered home that, not only evangelizes your children but also your neighbors? The greatest missionary force in America today sleeps in our bedrooms. May we lead, teach, and equip them well.

_

Alvin L. Reid is husband to Michelle and father to Josh and Hannah. He is a professor of evangelism and student ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as a popular speaker and author. He has written numerous books on student ministry, evangelism, missional Christianity, and spiritual awakenings. Follow him on Twitter: @AlvinReid.

*Check out Dr. Reid’s new book from GCD Books, Gospel Advance: Leading a Movement That Changes the World.

Hobbies: Gift or God?

The moment I walked into the dorms, I was greeted by a barely clothed 19-year-old guy with an Xbox controller in his hand. He looked at me and asked, “You play Halo?” So began my undergraduate degree at a Baptist university. I had come to study the Bible and philosophy, but it seemed that many of my peers had come to enjoy four years of practicing and perfecting the art of hobby. Dedicated intramural teams, obsessive gaming, competitive fantasy football brackets, and weekends to shoot skeet or play golf were just a few of the options that college opened up for myself and hundreds of other young men. When I graduated, the hobbies just got bigger and more expensive. With salaries and full time jobs, young men are given the resources to take their hobbies and obsessions to new levels. They often have a hard time being able to enjoy their hobbies in a restful way, without immersing themselves headfirst in a world of distraction. The young seminarian might obsess over his blog, the undergraduate student might be chest deep in video games, the father is dedicated to watching every game or being out on the links every weekend, and the grandfather is hoping to re-read all his favorite Grisham novels this spring at his lake house. Like Aristotle might have said, had he had the chance to update the slang in his Nichomachean Ethics, “It’s hard to fiddle in the middle.”

Are hobbies evil? Absolutely not! But when hobbies become obsessions they flip the created order, where man exercises God-given authority and dominion over creation (Gen 1:27-31), and instead place man in subjection to the creation (Rom. 1:21-25). So, the question before us is, how do you enjoy God’s goodness in creation without making your hobby a hindrance to your faithfulness to God’s mission in your home, church, and community?

I want to state three things that we must do, truths we can’t abandon in enjoying hobbies, and two things that we can do to shape our practice of hobby.

What We Must Do

In order to be faithful men of God while enjoying God’s creation, we must:

1. Be Self-Controlled

Paul tells Timothy that those who aspire to the office of overseer “desire a noble task.” These men, the overseers, are to set an example of the lifestyle of a Godly man. Paul exhorts Timothy that these men, the standard set before the men of the church, should be “sober-minded” and “self-controlled" (1 Tim. 3:2).

What is self-control? It is the ability to restrain oneself from one thing so that one might be cast headlong into something better. Paul goes on in 1 Timothy 4:12-15, saying, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid theirs hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.”

As C.S. Lewis says in The Weight of Glory, “We are far too easily pleased.”

We refrain ourselves from immersion in hobbies so that we can immerse ourselves in communion with God. We practice self-control in our hobbies so that we can practice reckless abandonment in our pursuit of Christ.

2. Redeem the Time

Above my desk, in my office, I have a framed picture that my wonderfully creative wife made for me that has pictures of books, coffee beans, and a few quotes. Knowing that my hobbies are reading, writing, and the quest for the perfect cup of coffee, in the middle of that picture is a quote from Jonathan Edwards. The quote from his “Resolutions” says, “Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.” Underneath this quote is Paul’s admonition to the church in Ephesians 5:15-16, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making he best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

Is it lazy that I occasionally enjoy reading fiction while I watch a rack of ribs smoke on my pit? Is it sinful that my brother and I have fun attempting the maddening challenge of placing a small white ball into a hole 400 yards away? No, but there is a difference in delighting in the good gifts of God and engrossing myself in the realm of distraction.

If I look to use the “first fruits” of my time for any hobby or practice other than advancing the Kingdom in my home, church, and community, then my hobby has stolen my heart.

One way that I would encourage you to “test your hobbies” is to ask the question, “Where do I run in times of crisis?” In times of crisis, struggle, or fear we run to the functional hero of our hearts. After that argument with your wife, do you flee to tinker in your garage? After that bad news from the boss, do you escape into a fiction fantasy?

Where you run to spend your time when your “time is up” is where your worship is directed.

3. Possess a Gospel Urgency

While Paul encouraged Timothy and others to “Practice these things [scripture reading, teaching, exhortation, etc.], immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress” (1 Tim. 4:15). Paul goes on, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Our hobbies should be practiced with a gospel urgency. Vacations, hobbies, and rest does not exempt us from the ongoing mission of God in our home, church, and community. If your hobby is an escape from living under the Lordship (authority) of Christ, than your hobby is a remnant of your sinful desire for autonomy. When you are enjoying fishing on the lake…you belong to Christ, the water belongs to Christ, and the fish belong to Christ. Like Abraham Kuyper once proclaimed, “There is not one square inch in all of our human existence over which God does not cry, ‘Mine!’”

Yet the world and the spiritual forces of evil at work in the lives of unbelievers oppose Christ’s Lordship over all of creation. Your hobby must become a platform upon which you stand to proclaim “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Ps. 8:1).

If our hobbies are lacking an urgency to know and enjoy Christ and to make him known, than they are becoming less than they were created to be.

What We Can Do

To encourage and challenge ourselves to remain faithful men of God while enjoying our hobbies we can:

1. Serve Our Wives

I love writing, so I operate a blog. My wife knows that I love to write and that if I am not blogging, I will be working on a sermon, book, article, or paper. What does it say about my heart if I write a thousand blog posts and never once use my gift of writing to honor, serve, or celebrate her? It says that I believe my hobby is from me, through me, and to me. Does that phrase sound familiar?

So I attempt to serve my wife with my writing. I write her poems and “choose your own adventure story-dates.” I am also sure to speak well of her in my writing.

Maybe you love to cook; cook her a meal. Maybe you love to work with your hands; make her something. Maybe you love to golf; take her out to her Putt-Putt. Be creative, put as much thought into including her in your hobby as you do in practicing your hobby.

2. Include Others

You are not the only guy who likes playing Madden 2013. There is a high school guy in the student ministry at your church who can destroy you, invite him over and let him teach you a few things. You are not the only man in your church who enjoys watching the games on Sunday afternoon, so invite them over and mute the TV during the commercials. You would be surprised at how excited that young man would be to get invited to your senior adult men’s domino game.

Bring other people into your hobby. Use your hobby to develop relationships with your neighbors and church family. When you see a gift as a gift, and not as an entitlement, than you will share that gift.

The real question is, “Is your hobby gift or god?”

_

Kyle Worley is the author of Pitfalls: Along the Path to Young and Reformed, an editor at CBMW, and serves as Connections Minister at The Village Church Dallas Campus. He holds a double B.A. in Biblical Studies and Philosophy from Dallas Baptist University and an M.A.Th. in Church History at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also pursuing an M.A.R at Redeemer Theological Seminary.

*This originally appeared at CBMW.

Meet Our New Editors

Jonathan Dodson, Brad Watson, and I talked a lot about the future of GCD when I became Director last August. We had dreams of publishing more books, discipling more authors, and finding more creative ways to resource local churches. These were big dreams, emphasis on the big and the dreams. We knew it would take a little time and a lot of work, but that we wanted to improve upon our continued goal of publishing resources that help make, mature, and multiple disciples of Jesus. At our board meeting earlier this year, these dreams quickly began to become realities. After much prayer, conversation, and the general angst that comes with several 5-hour white-boarding sessions, it was clear that a needed first step was to improve and expand upon our staff. And we've done just that. Allow me to introduce them to you:

Mathew Sims

Mathew now serves as Managing Editor of GCD.

He is the author of the stellar A Household Gospel: Fulfilling the Great Commission in Our Homes and writes for several websites, including his own site, Grace for Sinners. You've seen his work here at GCD already.

He has completed over forty hours of seminary work at Geneva Reformed Seminary. He works with technology by day and is married to LeAnn with three daughters. His family attends Downtown Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Greenville, SC.

Mathew's role at GCD will primarily be to solicit and edit articles, work with book authors on their projects, and directly lead our editorial team. His addition allows me to become Executive Director and to focus my time on leading and overseeing the mission and vision of GCD.

Matt Manry

Matt now serves as Assistant Editor of GCD.

He is Director of Discipleship at Life Bible Church in Canton, GA and an editor at Credo Magazine. He has a B.S. from Kennesaw State University and is currently pursuing master's degrees at both Reformed Theological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary. He blogs at Gospel Glory.

Matt has already been assisting me with editing articles over the past few months, and has done an exceptional job. He deserves official recognition for what he's done and will continue to do for us.

Please check out our staff page and connect with us on Twitter. We're excited about what God is doing in our midst! Also, we'd be honored for you to consider supporting our endeavors. We have a few ways you can do that.

Family Sojourning and the Bible

My wife and I met in college, started dating, and never looked back. We were engaged my senior year and got married immediately after college. The biggest struggle in our marriage was discipleship. You begin asking, what does family discipleship look like practically? How can this be accomplished within the framework of two sinners living together in covenant?

Add kids into the mix and the question seems more complicated, right?

Family Discipleship Nine Years Later

My own story was one of gradual change through the constant and loving work of the Spirit. He frequently used basic, overlooked things to change my life. It took me a long time to put my arms around this truth.

During my senior year of college, I experienced a renewed passion for God. I was reading the Bible and couldn’t get enough of Jesus. I was asking questions and hearing God speak through his word and also enjoying intimate times of prayer. I was also introduced to some great books, which completely shifted the way I thought about the gospel and how it applied to me. In short, I experienced a complete paradigm shift in my Christian life. I wanted my wife to experience the same and my big question was how?

Before getting married, I read a dozen or more books on marriage. I felt ready, but old habits die hard. For much of my early Christian life I was legalistic. That sucked the joy right out of fellowship with God in his word and in prayer.

So how did I disciple my new wife? With a spoonful of gospel to help the legalism go down. I tried to force her to enjoy the same things I did. I would move beyond encouraging her and would make her feel guilty if she didn’t cross her t’s and dot her i’s.

This was disastrous not only for her but for me. The Spirit doesn’t work through coercion but by the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16-17). I felt discouraged. She felt badgered.

Fast forward almost seven years and one almost ruined marriage. It finally hit me. The Spirit works through ordinary means.

I had a grasp on a half-truth earlier in my marriage. The word and prayer are means of change through the power of the Spirit, but they are used as balm for the hurting soul not weapons to torture the weary soul.

A Family Feast

Now, I not only have my wife to disciple, I have three beautiful daughters. I keep asking myself, How can I share the love, joy, and intimacy I experience with God with my family? The answer may seem too simple, but for me, it was revolutionary.

I had been having my own personal feast with God through his word. I kept inviting my family, “Come join me. There’s food without price!” But I had rarely nourished my family. After I recently finished my yearly Scripture reading program, I decided to focus on a passage to meditate on what God had taught me. I read through Ephesians multiple times over the next two weeks.

As I was finishing Ephesians, Paul’s admonition to husbands struck me. He commends husbands to love their wives as Christ loves his bride “that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26-27).

I asked myself, How does Christ nurture, care for, and cleanse his bride? The answer was simple - the Word. Next I had a conversation with myself that went something like this: You idiot. You’ve been feasting with God and telling your family how great this food tastes and how wonderful the fellowship was but you have never committed to nourish them.

Husbands, it’s not enough to model a loving relationship with Jesus and a consistent gospel piety. You have to share the fruit of the Spirit’s labor with your family.

You must read the Scripture with your family. Demonstrate the passion you have for the gospel in the pages of Scripture as you read. Pray that the Spirit would make the gospel stick to their bones.

The Spirit will work in our families by the same power, which he raised Christ from the dead. It’s that power which is evident in Scripture, because the words are God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Christ's word equips our families to live on mission within our communities, churches, and families.

A Gospel Foundation

Now how do we accomplish family discipleship in the real world of work, children, marriage, and church?

Paul’s gospel-saturated admonition in Philippians 2:3-9 has transformed the way I lead and has helped create a gospel culture in our home. Read it through slowly.

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.

First, Paul contrasts self-ambition with gospel sacrifice (vv. 2-3). Before he hears the groans about the impossibility of living out the truth of the gospel, Paul cuts the legs out from underneath that argument. The same gospel power which compelled Christ to die on the cross is now ours (“which is yours in Christ” [v. 5]). He matter of factly states, “This mindset is yours in Christ.” We are a new creation.

The Spirit taught me two principles in this passage. First, as a father and husband, I must model humility, and as a sinner, that model is most aptly seen in the way I humbly repent of my sins in front of my family. Do I bristle if my wife or even kids tell me how my unkind words hurt them? Am I too proud to admit my parenting failures to my daughters?

Second, (and this goes hand in hand) how will I respond when people graciously ask for my forgiveness? Will I make them pay? Or will I graciously forgive even as Christ graciously forgave me?

It’s easy when interacting with other sinners in such close quarters to make someone wait a few hours before you forgive them, but is that the mind that’s ours in Christ? Is that his example demonstrated in the gospel? Thankfully, the answer is no.

From One Weary Sojourner to Another

With that gospel foundation in place, here are some practical suggestions on family discipleship from one weary sojourner to another.

My daughters are growing up. First and foremost, we keep it fun and try to engage them. We use My 1st Book of Questions and Answers as a launching pad for teaching our children basic gospel truths (Also check out The Westminster Shorter Catechism Songs: The Complete CD Set and Starr Meade’s Training Hearts, Teaching Minds.)

Catechisms are like a skeleton. They hold the grand narrative in place.

We ask a couple questions. We don’t sweat it when things get busy and we miss a couple nights. With just over a hundred questions you can easily complete it multiple times throughout the year even missing multiple days. We also use The Jesus Storybook Bible to flesh out the skeleton. Sally Lloyd-Jones has done an excellent job making Jesus the hero of the grand narrative.

But the heartbeat of all of these helps is the gospel as told in Scripture. We don’t sit down and read through half the Bible. May just be a few verses. We ask basic questions about the story and try to place it within the big picture of the gospel.

Not every night, and sometimes not scheduled, we sing with our kids. Make it fun. My daughters love Sovereign Grace’s Walking with the Wise. We pump up the volume. We sing. We dance. We praise God. Nothing fancy. Remember Moses’s command was to talk about the greatness of God during the course of everyday life.

My normal pattern is to read through the Bible once in the year, and I now share the journey with my wife. I intentionally disciple my wife by washing her with the Word. Discussion naturally occurs because of the difficulty of many texts. Our general rule is to read together at least five days a week. That flexibility leaves room for disaster to strike (and it normally does). She reads a chapter. I read one. We read together around 20 minutes. That’s the length of one sitcom.

We also spend time together praying. We pray from Valley of Vision and then incorporate personal prayer out of these. These prayers are fertile gospel soil and will encourage you to pray to God honestly in the name of Jesus.

The Bible also provides a natural and comfortable setting for families to talk about a variety of topics. If you have emerging youngsters who have questions about anything from sex to homosexuality to bad stuff happening in the world and you don’t know how to breach these topics with them, just sit down and start reading the Bible together. It's the best conversation starter and ender.

In Genesis alone you might get questions like, Why does Jacob have more than one wife? What does sex mean? And what is the proper context for it? Why are these men trying to break down Lot’s doors? The grand narrative with its Hero is the only context where these discussions will be meaningful.

I have shared a lot of information from nine years worth of my own failures and success. Our family is changing through the steady work of the gospel in our hearts. Do not walk away from this discouraged. The gospel frees us from shame, guilt, and accusations.

Live in light of the gospel, which has so transformed your life. Understand life happens, and in your home everything won’t always be tidy. Sometimes both kids will be cranky, the washer will flood, and you will be so exhausted you can barely move. Take heart. “A bruised reed he will not break” (Is. 42:3).

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Mathew B. Sims is the Editor-in-Chief at Exercise.com and has authored, edited, and contributed to several books including A Household Gospel, We Believe: Creeds, Confessions, & Catechisms for Worship, A Guide for Advent, Make, Mature, Multiply, and A Guide for Holy Week. Mathew, LeAnn (his wife), and his daughters Claire, Maddy, and Adele live in Taylors, SC at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains with their Airdale Terrier. They attend Downtown Presbyterian Church (PCA). Visit MathewBryanSims.com!